The Dubbing of Haruhi Suzumiya

[xris]

It seems a few polls have been put up. The second one is probably the most unexpected thing I have ever seen.

http://asosbrigade.com/
http://asosbrigade.com/auditions/a.php
This thread is for the discussion of English Voice Actors in the R1 release of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

Please remember these simple rules when critiquing a VA's performance or reading another forum member's critique:

Don't take it personally.
In other words, you’re free to disagree with another person’s opinion, but don’t flame them if they offer a well written and well thought out analysis that differs from your own opinion. Keep it civil.


Voice Actors are humans.
Yes, it’s true. They’re human. Therefore, don’t just indiscriminately rip them and their work apart as if they’re inorganic objects. You don’t have to flame praise them non-stop, but be thoughtful in your criticism.

[Vexx]

The ASOS propaganda campaign seems to be popular but I have to say I've not been really fond of *any* of the voice candidates being offered. As someone said elsewhere for Mikuru, the "little girl mousey voice" that works so well in Japanese just really doesn't float in English -- mostly because the talent they're using mistake "high pitched whine" for "mousey". (thinks back to the english VA for Aoi in AYA that made me want to stab my speakers...)

Probably the best we can hope for in Yuki's case is "dry monotonic sarcasm"...

They're just doomed when it comes to Haruhi or Kyon, methinks.... but we'll have to see whom they come up with.

[Nirvaphreak]

The ASOS propaganda campaign seems to be popular but I have to say I've not been really fond of *any* of the voice candidates being offered. As someone said elsewhere for Mikuru, the "little girl mousey voice" that works so well in Japanese just really doesn't float in English -- mostly because the talent they're using mistake "high pitched whine" for "mousey". (thinks back to the english VA for Aoi in AYA that made me want to stab my speakers...)

Iono why I think of AVs when I hear the candidates' try out Mikuru's lines...it just sounds so weird :heh:

[chrno_the_sinner]

Iono why I think of AVs when I hear the candidates' try out Mikuru's lines...it just sounds so weird :heh:

That's because there's no background audio. Take the audio and extra character's lines out and it will probablt sound like porn too.

By the way, it's Yuki's turn at the mic.

[X207]

sounds weird in english

[LCeh]

Someone posted some fanmade clips in the general discussion thread of Haruhi and I thought that one was pretty well done, so it gives me hope that the official English dub will be tolerable too.

[CrowKenobi]

It's now time for the next "choose the dub candidate" and it's Itsuki's turn at the mic, and we get five choices... I really didn't think any of them worked, but for the poll, I chose number 4.

btw, click on Kyon's name to get there.

:cool:

[aegismode]

I didn't like any of them. 2-4 sounded too generic. 1 is okay but too emo. 5 sounded most carefree, and thus more Itsuki to me.

[Tokkan]

I agree that 5 is the best, but it's not winning. I seriously hope more people vote for 5. 2, 3 and 4 sound off and 1 has poor pronounciation.

[CrowKenobi]

I read on the ANN boards that someone suggested that #1 is Johnny Young Bosch... after listening to that choice a number of times, I have to agree because I'm hearing Ichigo from Bleach (which is the wrong voice, imho. He should be doing Vash, the Stampede!). :D

[Skane]

OH. MY. GAWD!

My ears bled from some of the choices in Itsuki's dubbing.

Click Here (http://asosbrigade.com/auditions/ahappyguy.php)

1) Not a bad voice actually, but somewhat wrong for Itsuki. It was... too serious?

2) Fail, fail, FAIL! Itsuki's voice is one of optimism and smug confidence. This VA sounded so unsure and nervous.

3) Bland.

4) Now we're talking. There was enthusiasm in his voice, which reflects the carefree nature of Itsuki in the show.

5) Win.

Cheers.

[anselfir]

For the itsuki thing

1. quite good....but too vampirish
2. too....childish
3. too...pimp
4. ok...sounds like a posse
5. drastic....gangsta

The mikuru one...which pron is this from?

[Cloud05]

I like 1 and 5. I voted for 1, but I guess I'm ok with either one.

[Orchunter226]

I liked #5. I think he really brought out Itsuki's smooth manner of talk. That "smug confidence," as another person has said, that all the others had failed to portray.

I think it's Crispin Freeman as well.

[Ultima_Rasengan05]

for Koizumi"s dub voice auditions
i chose number five
number one was also good
but i think number five hit me as the right Koizumi tone for the American version!!
I hope the next poll will feature Kyon or Haruhi American VA"s
i wanna see what they came up with!!

[darkchibi07]

I liked #5. I think he really brought out Itsuki's smooth manner of talk. That "smug confidence," as another person has said, that all the others had failed to portray.

I think it's Crispin Freeman as well.

#5 was definitely Crispan Freeman. But these choices are a lot harder to choose from. Though one thing for sure, #2 was pretty terrible.

[Deathkillz]

hmm so far weve only had 3 polls for the VA right? mikuru (http://asosbrigade.com/auditions/a.php?poll=1&results=1), yuki (http://asosbrigade.com/auditions/arandomfile.php) and Itsuki (above)

heres my choices ~
mikuru ~
1) a bit...too orgasmic? :heh:
2) personally my pick ~ soft voice and the screams are actually the closest resembling mikuru's character...
3) sounds too old :/
4) the scream this time makes my ears bleed >.<

yuki ~
1) posh? but its pretty good :o
2) a bit too high toned ~
3) this one is also pretty good...she showed a bit of emotion in the tone but not to much so that it doesnt suit yuki...
4) the voice just doesnt suit yuki ~ a bit too rough imo

Itsuki ~
1) hmm...not bad but still it doesnt fit itsuki...its missing the "carefree" nature of his voice...
2) reasons skane has already pointed out :heh:
3) hardly any "itsuki" emotion >.<
4) a bit too corny imo...maybe the voice is a bit too deep?
5) this was good ~ closest match the itsuki's character out of the 5

[Sheba]

While #5 sounded kinda old for someone about Itsuki's age, it conveyed his smooth talk the best. I'd like to hear him shouting Fumoffu and Second Raid.

[Maxon]

Mikuru - #2. The voice had the best resemblance to her. #1 was close, but it was a bit too whiny. #3 was too old, and #4 had a slight lisp.

Yuki - #3. Again, best resemblance. #1 was pretty close to it. #2 was too high pitched and #4 was too rough and high pitched.

Itsuki - #5. The only one that had a smooth and deep voice. I think it's Crispin Freeman too. The others were too high pitched/chipper/capable of making eardrums bleed. Okay, #1 wasn't bad, but it still didn't fit Itsuki.

We've been lucky so far but I have this nagging feeling all the VAs for Kyon and Haruhi are going to be terrible.

[Jaruromania]

I always thought Itsuki sounded slightly nervous in his speech, even though he actually wasn't. I think I'm the only one who liked #2 for Itsuki, I thought the voice sounded the closest to the original. His tone is slightly off when he "scoops" his lines but the voice seems pretty close.

[Klashikari]

Itsuki :
1) sounds serious / dramatic oO
2) completely missed the scene just like skane pointed earlier.
3) flat -_-
4) my choice (lacks a bit of itsuki's enthousiasm though)
5) while this one is nice, several parts are wrong to me (you feel the dubber was a bit exegarating his speech. i thought the guy was snubbing or something... geh...) and he is utterly too old... (i thought that guy was dubbing a 20 years' old itsuki -_- )

Mikuru (this WILL be hard...)
1) scary...
2) this one wins by default... could be way better but, it's the best among the 4.
3) like deathkillz said : old.
4) strident, my ears hurt...

Yuki (shouldn't be that hard) :
1) good performance
2) accent, variable voice tone => fail.
3) i liked the tone, but too old...
4) that one is a joke right? missed completely the boat.


i'm ready for some butchered AV dub for haruhi and kyon (ho boy... i doubt any of the kyon sample will have the required amount of sarcasm...which is the true essence of kyon... no, the narration itself ! >_<)

[KaneDragon]

Going with the flow, I voted #5 for Itsuki. Smooth, smug, and least mangling of "Haruhi". I couldn't believe that it was tied with #1, though-- #1 doesn't have any energy.

[onepiecelover]

NOOOOOOO they are going to screw up this wonderful anime in English so bad =/

[Sheba]

NOOOOOOO they are going to screw up this wonderful anime in English so bad =/


Trust me, French had it worse. The two only french dubs I remember being good are Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex and Cowboy Bebop.

[FatPianoBoy]

Some people have been complaining about none of them being great, but I thought #5 absolutely nailed it. A better fit than any of Mikuru's or Yuki's, anyway.

[JediNight]

I voted #2 for Mikuru as well -- she had the best voice quality fitting Mikuru and wasn't overly squeeky about it. (Gotta admit that even in Japanese Mikuru has a very high voice anyways)

Yuki I chose #3 -- Both #1 and 3 had good presentation of the lines, but I felt that #3 just sounded more like Yuki.

Itsuki as everyone is saying is a hard choice. I don't think any of them were super close, but I picked #5. #1 I don't see why its getting so many votes, the voice was too high IMHO. #5 I think given a little more work can do just fine though -- he just needs to sound a bit more soft and friendly. Itsuki has a deeper voice, but he doesn't sound harsh when speaking -- if #5 is really Crispin Freeman, then he needs to shake his usual hard tone for characters. (FMA and Chrono Crusade for example)

[waffo]

Geez, Itsuki's is so difficult. None of them have the same voice so I had to go by attitude. I voted for five after eliminating all the weird pronunciations of Haruhi I heard.

[izzyntsherandom]

One is too... serious for Itsuki. He sounds like he's sighing a lot in his lines (not breathy, more the mood of sighing), whereas Itsuki smiles all the time. (And he sounds a lot like Yuki Sohma's dub voice [Fruits Basket], or is it just me who thinks that?)
Two is too... earnest. And worried. And eager to talk. XD
Three: To me the best of a not-great-bunch, but I seem to be in a very small minority here on this ^^;. I do see why people are calling him bland, but he has the right amount of amusement in his voice when talking about how quickly Mikuru and Yuki fell in with Haruhi, and I think he said the "for now I'll give you the short version" line the best of the five too. He delivered the "sometime in the future" line well too- "well" meaning "like Koizumi in the Japanese" ^^
Four: Very fast! Didn't give the impression of the laidback, seemingly-carefree, constantly-smiling-with-his-eyes-closed-looking-serene ESPer we all know and love. I can't help imagining Kyon making "internal" comments about his speed of talking >_< (Plus, "Haruwi"? Or was it "HaruWii", and someone's got Nintendo on the brain? XD)
Five: too old-sounding- his voice is too deep, or rich, or maybe it's the precise quality of the American accent, but he does sound too old for the part. However, he's got the carefree angle down, but I'm not getting much of a "mysterious" vibe, and... it's more "careless" rather than "carefree". I dunno, it just doesn't sit right. And as has been said above, he has that "smug confidence" sound about him, but it's too in-your-face to me. To me, Itsuki's always seemed like quite a subtle character in his own way- certainly more subtle than this.

One thing that I've always noticed about Itsuki's voice is that he sounds perpetually slightly amused. That's what stands out most to me, and I think 3 captured that element of him best. Hence why I voted for him. ^^


Mikuru: voted 2; the best, and a good voice for her I feel. Very true to the Japanese, especially compared to the others. 3, as has been said, was too old; 4 was a little pouty/whiny; and is it just me or is 1 Hilary Haag? She sounds very like Megumi in RahXephon to me...

Yuki: voted 3. Two is too sleepy/floaty/something, 4 sounds too "human"- as in, like a normal human character- 1 falls down mostly in the way she says "ordinary humans like you"... There's too much variation in the tone of her voice. Having said that, 3 sounds a little too robotic- just a little, but it's there. Still, 3 is my favourite Nagato voice, with 1 being second.

[Quajafrie]

And now... Kyon's voice (http://asosbrigade.com/auditions/akyonvoice.php). That's where the hard part begins.

Voice 1 is just nothing.
Voice 2 is good, but nothing compared to Sugita-san's voice, really.
Voice 3, 4 and 5 (especially 5) have no relation to Kyon's character.

I voted for the second one, but it's just better than the others, not really that good.

[aegismode]

Kyon's voice... #2 by far. It matched Kyon best I thought. All other put too much breathiness into it and that's not very Kyon-like. Far from perfect, but I think I'm able to watch the series with this Kyon voice. With all others I find myself trying to turn it off as soon as I'm done with the first sentence.

Funny this wasn't hard at all. I thought Yuki's was much harder to decide.

[Senovit]

1: i imagine kyon's voice to be a bit deeper than that, but not a bad voice
2: kind of gaspy at first, although the second half is pretty good
3: ewwww x_x
4: too slow in my opinion, doesn't really seem to be kyon
5: it's like he's not even trying x_x

sigh.. none really seem to match kyon very well, but my vote's for 1, he seems to be the closest to matching kyon's japanese voice

[Skane]

Wow... I wasn't expecting the No.2 choice to be so far in the lead. I voted for the first one.

1) To me, this felt the most natural. When Kyon is narrating in the series, he is talking to the viewer and thus he needs to have clarity in his narration. His in-anime speech needs some working, but from what I hear from this clip, I am willing to give him a chance.

2) His in-anime speech is good, but his narration is poor. A huge bulk of Kyon's dialogue is in the form of narration, and if I have to plant my ears to the speakers in order to hear him, I think that is not quite right.

3) Zzz... bad acting. They probably inserted him into this audition out of pity or something.

4) A bit... too dramatic. The voice is good, but wrong for Kyon. Kyon is more of a nonchalant character( although he secret desires extraordinary events) and the voice has to reflect that.

5) Ironically, he has a narrator's voice, but the wrong kind. He's the kind of narrator that is supposed to be a disembodied voice, and not an actual character.

Cheers.

[Ultima_Rasengan05]

uh oh, I wonder what that
means.....maybe we finally get tohear Haruhi's VA candidate
in the polls.....
but as for the recent candidatesfor Kyon's VA none of them were close to his tone....except maybe for no. tw

[Deathkillz]

kyon ~

1) i like this one ~ like skane said its more "natural" in a way :)
2) well he doesnt seem to be "narrating" like kyon...more like talking to someone else to me ~ but atill hes good
3) really bad...no emotion at all! T_T sounds like hes being forced to say those lines :heh:
4) over the top and doesnt fit kyon...hes more of a sloth type to be someone so energetic
5) FAIL!

[darkchibi07]

Hey, isn't #5 the guy in the video promo in the website? :heh:

[Bloodseeker]

Mikuru: All of the voices are too high piched to sound natural in English... You can make a girl sound sweet without giving them that kind of voice!

Yuki: #1. #2 is terrible.

Itsuki: #1, I guess.

Kyon: No preference.

[IchiKyo]

Mikuru : 2
Yuki : 3 but 1 is dragging kyon >_<
Itsuki : 5
Kyon : 2

[typhonsentra]

Kyon 5 sounds like he recited his lines into a cheap PC mic.

[Klashikari]

kyon
1) to me, the narration failed. While it fits an usual narration, it doesn't really suit kyon, because you kinda don't really sense what kyons is feeling. and weirdly enough, i almost didn't feel any difference between the narration and "in anime" speeches.

2) WINS ! i really liked the narration (unlike the previous one, you do feel kyon's puzzled sensation, along with some boredom)

3) what the..? did he acted flat like that on purpose? -_-"

4) just like skane said... that guy spoke like... he was dramatic and even panicked (especially the "why?!" , while kyon is supposed to be puzzled, but annoyed, not stressed)

5) This is even worse... not only it doesn't fit kyon, but it's rather opposite to his manner of speaking.

[Dagger]

"English Adaptation by ___Proper Noun___
Co-Produced by ___Proper Noun___ in association with ___Proper Noun__" :heh:

[Orchunter226]

I voted #2. Though I didn't much care for any of them, I think he fit the character the best.

The problem I'm having is that the Japanese VA was so amazing, that it's very hard to find an English counterpart to match how good he was.

[dkellis]

Aw. I was kind of hoping to be able to hear Ryouko Asakura's dub poll. I'm not entirely certain they can pull off the "cheerful, polite, airy" tone that well.

Although the part I'd really like to judge them by would probably be massive spoilers.

[FatPianoBoy]

This was definitely a 'best fit' decision. Number one sounded... unnatural. And he has no change in tone whether narrating or talking to the Goddess of Moe. Definitely not like Kyon.
Number two sounds as close to what I'd imagine Kyon in English as we're gonna get. Although he still sounds bored even in Asahina's invigorating presence, at least there's a change in inflection.
Number three sounds inappropriately bored and slightly drunk.
Number four, I think, is also one of the choices we got for Ituski. Also a bit of overacting.
I think I remember number five from the History channel :uhoh:

So, yeah... I voted for number two.

[Green²]

Kyon VA Casting

1, 3, and 4 appeared to have missed a "Hello!",.. ...#2 got it in, but, I think probably a line late or something for later cut & splicing. And all but number 2 & 5 I thought missed a clear and complete separation of between lines of thought and lines of the character speaking out to other characters.

And yet, I like the "sound" of the voice of number 2 best. It's almost as, if there was some greater power involved in getting us to (http://img237.imageshack.us/img237/3664/noshitfr1.jpg) make this choice. :eyebrow:

[Cloud05]

I really didn't like any of themall that much. I ended up putting two, it's probably the closest fit.

[CrowKenobi]

Well, I'm kinda disappointed in the choices for Kyon, but after some consideration, I voted for #2.

People on the other boards (AoD and ANN) are saying that Crispin Freeman is #2...

I think he should base his Kyon voice on his Zelgadis voice and work from there (i.e. in a lower register) imho. :D

[Tokkan]

The voice polls have been closed. Sorry to say.

[Cloud05]

The voice polls have been closed. Sorry to say.

What about Haruhi?

[Tokkan]

Dunno. But not only are they closed, they've disappeared from the site altogether.

[GyroidFanatic]

No, the entire site is closed for another viral marketing stunt. It'll all be back a bit after midnight.

[Cloud05]

I sure hope so.

[Onizuka-GTO]

absolutely disappointed with the kyon voice dub.
i was expecting a northern british twang to compliment the natural sarcasmic flow of words.
however my skeptimism was rewarded with a typical dull American acting, absolutle understandable as portraying a British kyon would call upon the king of England to take back those blessed lands of good fortune untouched by nature and hatred, i suppose the risk of miscasting a british as a good bloke would cuase unknown casulties as haruhi forbid urge the chasten population to sally forth and conquer some unfortunate country for king and ..e.r...country.

no..we must'en inflict such painful anger on those poor americans, it would be terriblly inhuman....

[aegismode]

http://asosbrigade.com/auditions/ah.php

Haruhi Vote.

[Dagger]

First Haruhi voice sounds fabulous to me. (Kari Wahlgren <3!!) Now to hear the others...

[Cloud05]

I really don't like any of them...They just don't fit her. :( I thought Number three was pretty good, but I haven't voted yet, I want to listen to them a few more times.

[Skane]

Wow... the choices for Haruhi are quite good. I had a hard time deciding on my final decision.

1) Good, really good. It is perky.

2) Perky too, with some hint of assertiveness.

3) A bit too ditzy. A better fit for a cheerleader-type, but not Haruhi.

4) Very clear. I like the clarity in her voice.

5) Die. Just die.

I ended up voting for No.4, but I will have no problems with either No.1 or No.2 either.

Cheers.

[darkchibi07]

Wow, Kari Wahlgren! :twitch:

I think I like her!

[CrowKenobi]

I liked #5 because she put a noticable sense of eagerness in her voice that #1 was lacking. :D (and was not as squeaky as #1's) ;)

1 - Kari Wahlgren
2 - Kate Higgins
3 - Michelle Ruff
4 - Stephanie Sheh
5 - Wendee Lee

no wonder I liked #5... :)

:cool:

[aegismode]

Arg... again I really didn't like any of them. Perhaps I'm just too big of an Aya-chan fan to really imagine anyone else doing Haruhi. But vote I must.

3 sounds like a valley girl. No. 4 sounds boring, kinda like "anime girl A". I'm torn between 1, 2, and 5. I kinda like 1 since I think her voice put a bit of smarts in Haruhi, not just a crazed talk of a tsundere'ko. 2 has more enthusiasm in her voice and I guess that's also approriate; I just didn't like the way she said "transfer". 5 also threw me at "transfer", so at the end I went with 1. I also like 1's way of saying "Kyon", so she wins by a hair.

[Cloud05]

Uggghh...The more I listen the more I hate them.

1- It sounds ok at first, but I don't like the way she says some of her words. At times she sounds like an older lady off of some nick at night show...

2- I don't mind this one as much, but at times she sounds way to much like a ditzy blonde (No offence.)

3- She sounds like a cross of Barbie and Cheerleader.

4- I really can't stand the tone in her voice, just the voice drives me up the wall

5- I like the way she starts out, but then it goes down hill VERY fast from "Hey Kyon."

I knew this was going to be hard, but now I just want to cry...:(

[Orchunter226]

I chose one because she seemed fitting to Haruhi to me for some reason. #2 was also very good, imo. However, she just didn't appeal to me the same way, I don't know why specifically.

#3 Sounded like she just got back from her cheerocracy meeting.

#4 was very clear, but to flat.

#5 was pretty good, but just not fitting imo.

One thing I noticed, is I have to take out of my mind the Japanese dubbing, and how good it was a little. Because the dubs for this show were far better than most shows out there. So setting the bar that incredibly high for the English VAs is probably setting it TOO high. The Japanese VAs were just exceptional, and you would be hard pressed to find any English VAs that good. Also, Japanese just sounds WAY different from English.

[Setsuna Asuka]

And some of these choices are the best in the industry right now.

Hell, at least Ocean isn't dubbing it<_<

[aegismode]

One thing I noticed, is I have to take out of my mind the Japanese dubbing

Yeah I have to do the same, or I'll start hating the English VAs and that's not gonna help. You just have to stop comparing them.

Now I started to understand why there are Seiyuu Otakus in Japan. Some of the really deserve the stardom.

[Green²]

Bunny girl 2.0 if we go with #1. :)

[diopter]

The do-or-die moment for the fans:

#1: First one and got a fairly good impression with the voice acting.

#2: Kate Higgins seemed to have recycled her Sakura (from Naruto) voice into this one. So what I got from #2 was a lobotomized Sakura with a hint of Haruhi's personality.

#3: A bit too old to fit Haruhi's face. I tried very hard to picture Haruhi with the voice, and it just doesn't work.

#4: Something with the overall pitch of the voice that just doesn't seem right. In addition, there is no change in the tone of her voice like the other ones (sounded very flat and apathetic).

#5: Like others have said, it started off very good. But somehow, it slowly spiraled its descent into crap. Case in point, the very last time where she says, "a mysterious transfer student" sounded like, quoting Kyon in episode 2, "a dangerous kidnapper" :heh: .

Therefore, by process of elimination, I ended up voting for #1, but #2 came a close second (reason below).

After hearing all of the English VA choices, I went back and listened to Aya Hirano's. Wow. I know it's redundant at this point, but I never really appreciated (more like taking it for granted by now) her voice until we got this panel of, at best, average selections.

Another question where people should think about before voting: who do you want to sing the two songs in Live a live? At this point we don't know if they'll dub the songs or just leave them in Japanese. But the possibility of dubbing is very real and I think people should take this into consideration when they vote. I know Kate's a singer so she'll fare decently, but I'm not sure if anyone else - in this voting poll - can sing well. So I was very tempted to just vote for #2 in hopes of me not ripping off my ears if and when I hear the songs.

[Vexx]

Sorry.. I was about to say something pithy and suddenly remembered the old classic "Whats Up, Tiger Lily?" ...In comic Woody Allen's film debut, he took the Japanese action film "International Secret Police: Key of Keys" and re-dubbed it, changing the plot to make it revolve around a secret egg salad recipe. It was hilarious for its time but has not aged well at all.

Unfortunately, I'm not smiling when I listen to most of these candidates even if I just completely clear my mind of the original VAs. I'm getting "can't modulate voice" "sounds bored" " hasn't studied the character" and "what is this about?" subchannel vibes. I'd really *like* to be able to show this to my wife (who prefers dubs because the subtitle fonts give her headaches at times) and NOT have her ask "what the hell was it you liked about this?"

[aegismode]

I would boycott R1 DVD if they re-do the songs in English. I really want to buy R1 so I really hope they leave it intact. Especially God Knows...

[GyroidFanatic]

I would boycott R1 DVD if they re-do the songs in English. I really want to buy R1 so I really hope they leave it intact. Especially God Knows...
You do realize that the Japanese songs will still be on the Japanese langauge option, right? Besides, they'd already have your money from the first 3 DVDs (assuming my calcuations are correct) by the time they got to Live a Live.

[Vexx]

Absolutely don't worry about the english dubs if you don't like them. Every R1 DVD I've purchased in the last several years has had the original japanese audio tracks available with subtitles in English if you want them.

Totoro's English track does the music in english ... but then Disney actually hires a fair grade of talent and works hard to cast english VAs well for their japanese imports and puts the polish on them. Its one of the few dubs I can stand to listen to that has music pieces in it.

[aegismode]

You do realize that the Japanese songs will still be on the Japanese langauge option, right? Besides, they'd already have your money from the first 3 DVDs (assuming my calcuations are correct) by the time they got to Live a Live.

Yeah well I'll wait til then :) Chances are we'll know before then anyway.

Seriously, it would take a lot of extra goodies for me to buy R1 if they decided to go that low. I doubt they would, given the respect they've given to the fans. Re-doing Japanese songs into English is just one of my pet-peeves. I can't stand them like I can't stand Hollywood remake of Japanese films.

Please Bandai/KadoUSA, don't fail me now!

[Mueti]

So far, there was one voice I found really good, that was Mikuru #2.
I didn't like any of the choices for Yuki, Itsuki, Kyon or Haruhi. I tried to picture the characters in my mind while listening to the voices and it just didn't match any of them.

I'll definitely try the english dub on the R1 release, maybe it won't be as bad as I suspect it to be with soundtrack and soundeffects added but I still suppose I'll be stuck with subtitles on my screen.

[Deathkillz]

lets see my pick for goddess haruhi :rolleyes:

1) hmm fistey and genki ~ quite good imo
2) not enough "haruhi" emotion in her tone
3) bland :/
4) too squeaky for haruhi imo...their isnt much breath in her voice ~
5) heh...i think she got tired half way and stopped putting in effort and tried a bit to hard :heh: ~ good start...if only she could keep up with the pace :/

>.< cant get the words "mysterious transfer student" out of my head now T_T

[General_Norris]

I voted for the first. It is not as good as the original but it seemed the best of all. The fifth was good too but I didn't liked it as much.

[Ascaloth]

OH. MY. GAWD!

My ears bled from some of the choices in Itsuki's dubbing.

Click Here (http://asosbrigade.com/auditions/ahappyguy.php)

1) Not a bad voice actually, but somewhat wrong for Itsuki. It was... too serious?

2) Fail, fail, FAIL! Itsuki's voice is one of optimism and smug confidence. This VA sounded so unsure and nervous.

3) Bland.

4) Now we're talking. There was enthusiasm in his voice, which reflects the carefree nature of Itsuki in the show.

5) Win.

Cheers.

I clicked on your link, and this is what I got:

"WARNING
Your action has created a 404 Error in the space-time continuum."

Thanks a lot, Skane. :cool:

[Tokkan]

That'd be because the 1st 4 voice polls were taken down, and the Haruhi voice poll will also be taken down once it's been up for 24 hours.

[chrno_the_sinner]

#1 for Haruhi. Kari Wahlgreen for the win. I know she can act. I went listening to the drama tracks for ilovebees and she did a really good job at acting. Plus her Cher (Wolf's Rain) was really good too.

[Setsuna Asuka]

Remember guys, this is just an audition.

I doubt they had the time to get into character, not to mention a casting director<_<

[Maxon]

Haruhi - #5. They were all poor, but number 5 was the least poor. Looks like my fears were confirmed.

The link for Kyon's doesn't work.

[darkchibi07]

They took down all of the others' polls so if you miss your chance, well tough luck.

[Cloud05]

Well, I ended up voting number three. She sounds a little bit old at times, but I think she captures Haruhi the best out of the bunch.

[Pepperidge]

I would boycott R1 DVD if they re-do the songs in English. I really want to buy R1 so I really hope they leave it intact. Especially God Knows...

Jeez man, with all of the effort they've been putting into just the mere ANNOUNCEMENT of this license so far, do you really think that they'd push out anything less than stellar quality on the final release if they did choose to dub the insert songs in English?

I seriously doubt they'll do the OP and ED, but it makes far more sense to redo Japanese songs if the characters themselves are singing them. The test of whether or not the dub is high quality isn't whether or not they leave as much Japanese in as possible, it's how much they can effectively translate into English. I'm not saying they'll translate the songs, but a lot of people ARE hoping that they're redone in English for the dub, and that Haruhi's actress would be able to pull off an exceptional adaptation, which I think is entirely possible.

I see no reason to have low expectations for this dub.

Hell, at least Ocean isn't dubbing it<_<

What the hell is wrong with Ocean? I was actually kind of hoping this would be a Calgary dub, since their talent pool has improved dramatically over the past couple of years and they have the kind of voices that would suit this series perfectly.

[Skane]

You know, only people who insist on watching dub should be genuinely worried about the dub. For sub watchers, why would we give a flying flip about the dub quality save for laughs and giggles? We should be more concerned about the translation quality of the subtitles.

Cheers.

[Cloud05]

It's true, but even if you are a sub watcher, you still want it to have a good dub, sort of a "Best of both worlds" thing.

[FatPianoBoy]

I picked three. Her acting felt the most natural, and I thought her voice quality was the best match for the character. While she wasn't quite as energetic as the others, at least it didn't feel forced. We're not going to get anyone that'll push Haruhi to the top like Hirano did, so I'd rather not get someone who's going to cause her to overshoot it and roll down the other side.

I like Wendee Lee, but seriously - she just doesn't fit :heh:

[JediNight]

I would boycott R1 DVD if they re-do the songs in English. I really want to buy R1 so I really hope they leave it intact. Especially God Knows...

A lot of VAs come from a theater/drama background of some sort. So they can sing fairly well, it's part of the territory. And the quality of dubbing has gone up tremendously in the last couple years. I exclusively watch subs if I can help it, but even I admit to there being some very good English voice talent these days.

I think what you are mistaking is bad casting choices and voice direction, for bad dubbing on the VAs part. It's the casting director's fault if they go with a voice that doesn't fit the character well, and also how they direct the VA to voice the parts.

[IchiKyo]

Haruhi - #5. They were all poor, but number 5 was the least poor. Looks like my fears were confirmed.

The link for Kyon's doesn't work.

Pick 5 too...
About Kyon's link
It's just like Itsuki, Nagato and Mikuru
All of them are now deleted :/

[Cloud05]

It's pretty much decided, non of them can catch up to one in the amount of time left.

[Deathkillz]

You know, only people who insist on watching dub should be genuinely worried about the dub. For sub watchers, why would we give a flying flip about the dub quality save for laughs and giggles? We should be more concerned about the translation quality of the subtitles.

Cheers.
soo true...even if i do get the dvd it doesnt mean im willing to sit down to listen to the dubs :p im only voting because its fun and get some laughs along the way seeing how some of the voices dont fit at all XD

[Vexx]

I'd like them to do the best casting to fit the needs of the role whether I ever listen to them or not. The product deserves it :)

[aegismode]

We should be more concerned about the translation quality of the subtitles.


Normally that would have been the case: I would not have cared less about the dub. But this is one of the first dub outside of Cowboy Bebop and Hellsing which I may want to try a few dub episodes (mostly due to the respect they've paid the fans, I'll admit), so for Haruhi I do care. But if they ended up doing a crappy job then, meh, yer right. I hope they do a fansub quality subtitle with flashing karaoke.

[Dagger]

I hope they do a fansub quality subtitle with flashing karaoke.
You might be better off hoping that they do an accurate subtitling job. Fansub quality =/= official DVD quality. I don't mean to denigrate fansubs, but since DVD subs are based on the official script, whereas fansubs must by necessity be based on the translator's hearing, when there's a discrepancy between them it's usually safe to go with the DVD version.

Also, the limitations of DVD technology makes flashing karaoke and the pretty, fancy fonts that you see in fansubs impossible.

[Tokkan]

What the hell is wrong with Ocean? I was actually kind of hoping this would be a Calgary dub, since their talent pool has improved dramatically over the past couple of years and they have the kind of voices that would suit this series perfectly.

Calgary dub? After what happened to My-HiME? No way in hell would I allow them to do that.

[Prolific]

I looked at the video on the main page and I noticed the girl who played Haruhi Suzumiya. SHE WAS THE PINK POWER RANGER! In Power Rangers: Turbo!

[Cloud05]

I looked at the video on the main page and I noticed the girl who played Haruhi Suzumiya. SHE WAS THE PINK POWER RANGER! In Power Rangers: Turbo!

She only said as much in the video...

[darkchibi07]

Haruhi's poll has been REMOVED!!! :D

Let the waiting game of awesomeness commence!

[aegismode]

Who's next? Tsuruya? She's got a huge following and surely deserves a poll.

[GyroidFanatic]

Who's next? Tsuruya? She's got a huge following and surely deserves a poll.

Nobody. "They" have left, so there will be no more polls.

[IchiKyo]

looks like they finished poll :/
Maybe the Main Cast is more important

[Ultima_Rasengan05]

i dunno i found the Haruhi VA auditions hard to decide
it was either one two or three
but i think three did the best job
so i voted for number three
but since the polls are closed now
i think they"re trying to finalize the real cast for this show
i hope it turns out good

[Vexx]

The real question with "official" subtitles is whether they choose
1) to stay pretty literal (straight grammatical translation with no flair or slang) or
2) put it terms that would "spiritually equivalent" (harder to do but more satisfying results) .... or
3) localize it (usually a losing result aka "Have a donut" == "Please enjoy a mochi").

So far mostly in official subs I find choice 1 .... occasionally I trip across choice 3 (omfg kill it) but fortunately that is pretty rare and usually for genre I find uninteresting anyway. Fansub groups tend to hit the choice 2 more often ("gambatte" does have more than one translation after all depending on the context).

[Setsuna Asuka]

One word 'Nakama'<_<

[Cloud05]

One word 'Nakama'<_<

Call me stupid...but I don't get it...

[Setsuna Asuka]

Never mind...

[Skane]

The real question with "official" subtitles is whether they choose
1) to stay pretty literal (straight grammatical translation with no flair or slang) or
2) put it terms that would "spiritually equivalent" (harder to do but more satisfying results) .... or
3) localize it (usually a losing result aka "Have a donut" == "Please enjoy a mochi").

So far mostly in official subs I find choice 1 .... occasionally I trip across choice 3 (omfg kill it) but fortunately that is pretty rare and usually for genre I find uninteresting anyway. Fansub groups tend to hit the choice 2 more often ("gambatte" does have more than one translation after all depending on the context).
Actually, you can see all three in action from the Kanon fansubbers. :heh: Amongst the main three at least.

This would be [SS-Eclipse]. I was following them at first, but some of the translations threw me off, because it just did not flow well in my train of thought. You would need to think in Japanese in order to get some of the subtitles.

On one hand, their translation is accurate, but on the other hand, it just feels weird when you try to compute it on an English train of thought. This additional computing detracts from the viewing experience, and breaks immersion.
.
Meet [TWH][Sprocket]. I actually find it easier to follow their subtitles, because it just flows better in English. Some grammatical mistakes, but understandable due to their speed of fansubbing.
.
Finally, we have [a.f.k.]. :p I decided to switch over to [a.f.k.] for better immersion. However, I do take some issue with their translator's habit of 'Americanising' some of the things in Kanon.

Especially the names... I really don't like it when they arrange the names in the western order, especially when the spoken dialogue conflicts with what is written on the screen. :p I'm irked by this more because I'm Chinese, and it just feels weird to read a name in the western order, when it is meant to be the other way round.

That said, most of their localisation are still believable, even in a Japanese context. Such as Yuuichi's comment on how Ayu can still order Happy Meals without feeling embarrassed( the others wrote it as Kid's/Children's Meals).

Cheers. :D

[CrowKenobi]

Call me stupid...but I don't get it...Nakama has so many translations (friends, co-workers, shipmates, etc.) that a-fansub-group-who-shall-not-be-named (:p) still subbing One Piece stopped translating nakama because they couldn't find an english equivelant that they liked that matched the situation that Luffy and his crew were in.

That help? :D

:cool:

[Cloud05]

Yes, thanks. lol

[Vexx]

Crow beat me to it... "nakama" translates literally as "companion" but has dozens of slightly different shades of meaning. Its even the name of a Japanese-English translation guide. Often there's an implied connection or "pun" between multiple meanings.

@skane: I'm flipping back and forth between liking a.f.k. and SS-Eclipse from moment to moment because of the translation issues you describe.
For me, I prefer having to think in japanese because it helps me "grok" the language (subtitles being a crutch more than a replacement). On the other hand, "spiritual equivalents" like Happy Meal for "Kid's Meal" don't bother me. "Yoshi!" (even if, a-ok, all right, lets do it, yes!). But westernizing names (last/first, etc) and dropping honorifics bother me, especially the latter when the change of honorific or change of which name is allowed to be used signifies a change of relationship. (-san --> -kun or -chan)

[Skane]

~ @skane: I'm flipping back and forth between liking a.f.k. and SS-Eclipse from moment to moment because of the translation issues you describe.
For me, I prefer having to think in japanese because it helps me "grok" the language (subtitles being a crutch more than a replacement). On the other hand, "spiritual equivalents" like Happy Meal for "Kid's Meal" don't bother me. "Yoshi!" (even if, a-ok, all right, lets do it, yes!). But westernizing names (last/first, etc) and dropping honorifics bother me, especially the latter when the change of honorific or change of which name is allowed to be used signifies a change of relationship. (-san --> -kun or -chan)
I'm watching all three of them. :heh:

I watch [TWH][Sprocket] first, so that I can participate in the discussions. I then watch the [SS-Eclipse] version for potential GIF making, and to correct any misunderstandings I may have made from the first viewing( especially since they translate so literally).

Finally, I watch the [a.f.k.] version for my own personal enjoyment. :heh: So I watch each episode of Kanon no less than 3 times. :eyespin:

I'm most probably going to keep both [SS-Eclipse] and [a.f.k.]. The former for image extraction, since [a.f.k.] has no .MKV version, and the latter for repeated viewing.

[Theclow]

May I ask are they actaully consedering dubing(like US naruto) haruhi and bringing it to the US, I hope not.

[relentlessflame]

May I ask are they actaully consedering dubing(like US naruto) haruhi and bringing it to the US, I hope not.That's sort of an odd question, isn't it? I mean, yes, Haruhi has been licensed for North America, and as with most licensed anime, the DVD will feature an English dub track (that you can switch back to Japanese audio with English subtitles if you prefer). So they're not just considering licensing and dubbing Haruhi, but that's exactly what they (Kadokawa USA & Bandai) are doing. I'm not sure why this is a bad thing, though... if anything, it just means that people who like the show can now buy it on DVD in English (subs and dub).

[Theclow]

That's sort of an odd question, isn't it? I mean, yes, Haruhi has been licensed for North America, and as with most licensed anime, the DVD will feature an English dub track (that you can switch back to Japanese audio with English subtitles if you prefer). So they're not just considering licensing and dubbing Haruhi, but that's exactly what they (Kadokawa USA & Bandai) are doing. I'm not sure why this is a bad thing, though... if anything, it just means that people who like the show can now buy it on DVD in English (subs and dub).

When will then learn...they should just sub not dub. It's bad because look at One peice in the US version they had to cut so much out and we had horrible(I don't know anyone why likes them)dubs it's the same thing with naruto, great animes but the dubs just ruin it.

[xris]

When will then learn...they should just sub not dub.
Sigh, when will you learn :)

Why should the U.S. anime company cut their own throats? The U.S. marketplace for dubbed anime is somewhere between 3 to 10 times larger than the subbed marketplace (depends on the series and a number of other factors).

Anime fans (such as those who frequent these forums) are clearly a biased minority (for subs) when it comes to DVD sales but the bulk of the people who purchase the DVDs are not interested in reading subtitles when they watch anime.

And please, this thread is not for discussion how much hate there is towards dubs. It's not as if you are forced to listen to the English track, if you don't like it then just switch on the English subtitles and the Japanese audio track. If the DVDs want to reach a wide audience then they have to include dubs.

[relentlessflame]

I should also highlight again (since this seems to be a stigma that never dies for some reason) that there's no way they'll edit the show the way they did to One Piece just because they're dubbing it. So there's no way it'll ruin the show; as xris said, just switch to Japanese audio with subtitles, and you'll never know. :p

[FatPianoBoy]

I should also highlight again (since this seems to be a stigma that never dies for some reason) that there's no way they'll edit the show the way they did to One Piece just because they're dubbing it. So there's no way it'll ruin the show; as xris said, just switch to Japanese audio with subtitles, and you'll never know. :p

Yeah, people need to calm down. Only 4Kids pulls stuff like that.

[CrowKenobi]

Yeah, people need to calm down. Only 4Kids pulls stuff like that.Besides, 4squids did that horrible dub to One Piece to air on Saturday morning network television, whereas the Haruhi dub will be an uncut DVD release with the possibility of an Adult Swim airing. So relax, buy the discs and watch it whichever way you prefer. :D

[rpgman1]

SHnY will possibly be on Adult Swim replacing FLCL. Of course, the series needs to be aired at an earlier time to gain the attention of the viewers. I enjoyed watching Trinity Blood, Bleach, and Eureka Seven. There were rumors about Witchblade airing on Adult Swim, but it is still unconfirmed.

[FatPianoBoy]

SHnY will possibly be on Swim replacing FLCL. Of course, the series needs to be aired at an earlier time to gain the attention of the viewers. I enjoyed watching Trinity Blood, Bleach, and Eureka Seven. There were ors about blade airing on Swim, but it is still unconfirmed.

Difficult to swallow. Needs some sauce.

[Mirrinus]

The English cast of SuzuHaru has been announced.

Haruhi - Wendee Lee
Mikuru - Stephanie Sheh
Yuki - Michelle Ruff
Kyon - Crispin Freeman
Itsuki - Johnny Yong Bosch
Ryouko - Bridget Hoffman
Tsuruya - Kari Wahlgren

Edit: For those curious, here's some other roles each person has played:

Wendee Lee (Haruhi) - Faye Valentine (Cowboy Bebop), Tatsuki Arisawa (Bleach), Kaolla Su (Love Hina)

Stephanie Sheh (Mikuru) - Orihime Inoue (Bleach), Eureka (Eureka 7), Hinata Hyuuga (Naruto)

Michelle Ruff (Yuki) - Rukia Kuchiki (Bleach), Chii (Chobits)

Crispin Freeman (Kyon) - Holland Novak (Eureka 7), Rude (FFVII: Advent Children), Amon (Witch Hunter Robin), Alucard (Hellsing)

Johnny Yong Bosch (Itsuki) - Ichigo Kurosaki (Bleach), Vash (Trigun), Renton Thurston (Eureka 7)

Bridget Hoffman (Ryouko) - Belldandy (Ah! My Goddess: movie), Shinobu Maehara (Love Hina), KOS-MOS (Xenosaga)

Kari Wahlgren (Tsuruya) - Haruhara Haruko (FLCL), Fuu (Samurai Champloo), Robin Sena (Witch Hunter Robin), Anemone (Eureka 7)

[darkchibi07]

Just to make a clarification. If you think that Crispin Freeman is only capable for dark, brooding characters, DO check out his role of Hideki in Chobits. He's a complete riot in that role which assures that he's very capable in comedy. :heh:

[Noppapana]

is it me or they change yukis VA ? in the vid its like a different person

[Asrialys]

VA? You mean actor? Yeah, it's a totally different person. "Kyon" said that she was reconfigured or something. The first one probably returned to Japan or something. Or caught that flu that's everywhere. lol

[Noppapana]

VA? You mean actor? Yeah, it's a totally different person. "Kyon" said that she was reconfigured or something. The first one probably returned to Japan or something. Or caught that flu that's everywhere. lol

ooow i thought that the actors in the vid are the voice actors :confused:

[Asrialys]

They're more like random people. Maybe from Kadokawa. lol The biggest question mark is Patricia Lee. But whatever. They're only there to represent the ASOS Brigade.

[typhonsentra]

I was hope Wahlgren would get Haruhi, but I am still happy with the selections, especially Bosch as Koizumi.... so long as he stops mispronouncing the names.

[Asrialys]

I'll watch the dubs through, but I'll be cringing every time they mispronounce names, like they did with Haruhi's name in those voice actor polls.

"Ha-Rhu-Hi?"

[FatPianoBoy]

I'm surprisingly pleased with the cast. The only ones I have questions marks about are Stephanie Sheh, as I don't quite recall her work from Eureka 7 (I only watched one episode); Michelle Ruff (never saw Chobits in English); and Bridget Hoffman (never saw any of her English roles, either). Everything else looks good. I especially like their choices for Tsuruya and Kyon. Also, lol for sugar-sweet Belldandy playing a psychopath :heh:

It's beginning to look like I was worried over nothing. I won't be completely relaxed until I actually hear the dub, though, as a bad voice director can FUBAR even an all-star cast.

[LumpOfCole]

heres to hoping for smoked cheese voice outtake

[darkchibi07]

You may not heard enough roles from Stephanie Sheh, but have you heard enough roles from Jennifer Sekiguchi (yes, I'm implying that those two are the same person)?

[dkellis]

Also, lol for sugar-sweet Belldandy playing a psychopath :heh:

I've not heard any English dubs of the AMG movie (mostly because I never got the chance to), but I do hope that the sugary-sweet remains. One of the best parts of Ryouko's character, to me, is that she sounds so sweet and polite and happy and life-is-good... even when brandishing a combat knife murderously.

If it's like her KOS-MOS role (which I have heard), though, it'd probably be a major mistake in direction.

[quigonkenny]

Wow. I don't know if I could possibly be happier with the dub choices for SHnY. It's like a Who's Who of non-affiliated English VAs. The only thing missing is Steven Blum, but he could still turn up somewhere (Tanaguchi, maybe?).

Wendee Lee as Haruhi Suzumiya. This one surprised me. I thought she would have actually been best for Tsuruyu-san, and that Kari Wahlgren actually put forth the best "audition" on the asosbrigade website, but Ms. Lee isn't the most prolific female voice actress of all time for nothing, and she's carried the female lead on a pantheon-class anime (and pantheon-class dub) before, on Bebop. I'd expect something similar to her Tatsuki role from Bleach in this role, with maybe a little Faye Valentine indignation at times. I am very interested to see how she pulls off Live A Live.

Stephanie Sheh as Mikuru Asahina. She's definitely a rising star in the English dub world, with recent success in Eureka 7 and Bleach, and put forth easily the best--er--performance in the asosbrigade Mikuru auditions. While those auditions caught some heat for their notable lack of "voice" acting, I think they were a wonderful test example, as that type of acting is usually much more difficult to pull off than normal conversation or shounen-style action. Case-in-point is Winry's VA (whose name escapes me) in FMA. While she inarguably did a great job in most of that role, her acting as young Winry, especially in the flashback regarding the news from Ishbal, was weak, as her voice was basically the same, despite the large difference in age, and that unfortunately colored my opinion of those scenes. Similarly, if Mikuru's VA pulls off the normal acting, but tanks on the cos-raping (which there is a lot of), wouldn't it detract from the show? As for the "normal acting," Ms. Sheh has proven herself in her previous roles, especially FLCL's Mamimi (as Jennifer Sekiguchi--yes they are the same person), but I would expect something closer to Eureka for this role.

Michelle Ruff as Nagato Yuki. Easily the best at lack of emotion in the asosbrigade "auditions" for Yuki, and did fairly well at not sounding "too" robotic. While I haven't seen Chobits, I did read the manga and have seen some trailers, so I imagine her role as Chi would sound similar. Ironically for this role, Ms. Ruff has probably the best vocal range of any of the other actors cast, except maybe...

Crispin Freeman as Kyon. The no-brainer of no-brainers. This is like casting Pierce Brosnan as James Bond. His voice acting talent is indisputable, and his voice is as close to a perfect match to Tomokazu Sugita as you're coing to get on a gaijin. 'Nuff said. Again, I haven't seen Chobits, but for Kyon I expect some kind of happy medium between his S-Cry-Ed (Straight Cougar) and GitS (Togusa) roles, quite possibly his two best.

Jonny Yong Bosch as Koizumi Itsuki. I was bound to be disappointed for this role, no matter who they chose to play it, once it was evident that Ocean wouldn't be handling the voice acting. Simply put, Kirby Morrow (Inuyasha's Miroku) was born for this role, in much the same way as Freeman was for Kyon. Still, Bosch is a top-tier VA, if a little over-exposed right now, and turned in the second best asosbrigade "audition" (after Freeman, surprisingly). Also, he has an amazing ability to differentiate his roles through emotion alone. There's no mistaking Jonny Yong Bosch playing a role, as they're all basically the same voice (adjusting for age, as he showed on Eureka 7) but the different emotional flavor he puts into each role allows him to make them easily distinguishable from each other. I don't know how well that's going to work for the emotionally camouflaged Itsuki, but it does mean I can't really expect this performance to match one of his previous ones. Does need to work on his name pronunciation, though.

Bridget Hoffman as Ryoko Asakura. This one I know little about, as I've only seen the AMG movie once, and all I remember from it is Mary Elizabeth McGlynn (the Major from GitS) as Urd-sama (epic) and Steven Blum as the bad guy (perfect as always). Guess I've got another reason to pick up the DVD now, although no one ever manages to impress me as Belldandy other than Kikuko Inoue as the original. You just can't improve on perfection. I've got the Love Hina DVD box set at home, though, so I might as well take a listen to the English dub, although her voice for Shinobu should be very different. And dkellis is right in that her Belldandy voice should be in full effect here, from start to epic finish, to get the role right.

Kari Wahlgren as Tsuruya-san. Oh man. This could be the most important role of them all, and make or break the entire dub depending on how they handle her. I have complete faith in Ms. Wahlgren to turn in a stellar performance as directed, but it's the "as directed" that worries me. Anime characters with weird vocal mannerisms tend to be difficult to translate well, and are often disasterous when poorly regionalized (see ADV's version of Himeko from PPD!). The only times I can remember it being done well were with Ed in Cowboy Bebop (still the weakest dub performance in the series) and Haruko on FLCL, which does make me feel better about this being done well. I expect the director to try to pull some of that FLCL role out of Ms. Wahlgren, but they need to be careful to make sure she comes across as eccentric and not psychotically insane.

All in all, I've got a good feeling about this. **crosses fingers**

[CrowKenobi]

Dub director Eric Sherman posted this on the AnimeonDVD.com forums (http://www.animeondvd.com/forum/):



Hi! It's all been just as surprising to me!!! Including how AWFUL I am in this video... YUCK!! Anyway.... What I really wanted to say was that there is another surprise we have for you. Anyone interested in seeing the very first clips from the first few episodes that we're recording RIGHT NOW? You'll get to see several - and see the show reviewed -- on the new "AnimeTV (http://www.goanimetv.com)" anime review video podcast that goes up NEXT THURSDAY (2/15)!! I hope you'll all check it out AND PLEASE LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THINK!!!!!!!

Eric P. Sherman
Secondary Director to Ultra Director Haruhi Suzumiya
Bang Zoom! Entertainment Eric P. Sherman
Bang Zoom! Entertainment, Inc.
www.bangzoomentertainment.com (http://bangzoomentertainment.com/)

:cool:

[Animexcel]

I'm not sure how Wendy Lee will do as Haruhi. I do think she can pull off the singing, not the dialogue.

[Mirrinus]

What do you think the fan reaction would be if they dubbed God Knows? And conversely, what do you think the reaction of the first-time viewer would be if they saw it switch from English to Japanese in that scene if they didn't dub the songs?

Meh . . . I guess we can always fall back on the excuse that Haruhi just wants to be unpredictable, lol.

I confess I don't know that much about Wendee Lee's voice acting abilities, although she seems to be recieving the most amount of discussion from fans, and for good reason I'd assume.

[CrowKenobi]

What do you think the fan reaction would be if they dubbed God Knows? And conversely, what do you think the reaction of the first-time viewer would be if they saw it switch from English to Japanese in that scene if they didn't dub the songs?

Meh . . . I guess we can always fall back on the excuse that Haruhi just wants to be unpredictable, lol.

I confess I don't know that much about Wendee Lee's voice acting abilities, although she seems to be recieving the most amount of discussion from fans, and for good reason I'd assume.Two words: Faye Valentine. :love: :D

Other roles you can find here (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=1184) courtesy of Anime News Network's Anime Encyclopedia! :D

If she can play Ryoko from Real Bout High School, then she can pull off Haruhi!

:cool:

[Mirrinus]

To be honest, I never really watched much of the English dub of Cowboy Bebob. Only saw like 2 or 3 episodes, and that was a long time ago.

[GyroidFanatic]

What do you think the fan reaction would be if they dubbed God Knows? And conversely, what do you think the reaction of the first-time viewer would be if they saw it switch from English to Japanese in that scene if they didn't dub the songs?

Meh . . . I guess we can always fall back on the excuse that Haruhi just wants to be unpredictable, lol.

It's not that rare for anime.

*remembers Sakura Saku insert in Love Hina*

[quigonkenny]

To be honest, I never really watched much of the English dub of Cowboy Bebob. Only saw like 2 or 3 episodes, and that was a long time ago.

That's a shame. Cowboy Bebop is widely regarded as one of the best English dubs ever, if not the best. I know for a lot of people that's not saying much, but it is really an excellent dub. Heck, even people who don't like English dubs like the Bebop dub. Some even--gasp!--prefer it.

Of course, one of the reasons why it worked out so well is because the story is very American in feel (which makes me feel good about the upcoming Black Lagoon dub). Since Haruhi isn't, I don't think it'll ever really approach Bebop in popularity over here. For one thing, there's not enough action for the Adult Swim crowd. Secondly, it looks too "high schoollish" for some of the snobbier American fans, who will also be turned off by the (well-deserved for once) hype. And finally, it'll lose the "high school anime" fans fairly quickly (halfway through Episode 00, for some) as it's not formulaic or soapy enough. To all of which I say, "Their loss." The dub should still be great, though.

[darkchibi07]

Just a reminder, AnimeTV is going to premiere TOMORROW! They will show clips of the English dub of Haruhi Suzumiya as well as said so in this press release:

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/press-release/2007-02-13/animetv-premieres-feb-15

Whew, good thing they decided to release it on YouTube as well.

[Mirrinus]

A sample of some scenes dubbed in English can be found in AnimeTV's review of Haruhi Suzumiya:

http://www.goanimetv.com/watch_animetv/index.php

[Asrialys]

Haha, pretty neat. The "Mikuru Beam" was done nicely. LOL Shamisen...

[Mirrinus]

When I first heard the "Mikuru Beam", I didn't even realize that was a dub...

Wendee Lee's Haruhi is going to take some getting used to. >_< I like the effort with the enthusiasm in her voice, but it's still decidedly different from what we're used to. Given time, I think it'll work out though. I liked what she did in that scene with Mikuru and the computer club.

Crispin Freeman as Kyon was nice, I was cracking up when he was naming off the days for Haruhi's hairstyle. Didn't hear enough of Johnny Bosch as Itsuki, although what we heard wasn't bad at all. Yuki only said her name, that's hardly enough to judge her voice actor on.

[Asrialys]

Hard to judge Bosch's Itsuki on this video. Basically, it was terrible because of the equally terrible home-made movie. lol So we'll just have to wait till next week (if they talk about the same series) or the DVD release.

Aya Hirano's Haruhi has different tones. There was that bratty side. And at other times, she sounded slightly more mature. All we saw was Haruhi's eccentric side. We'll probably have to wait for the DVDs to see how Wendee Lee does the other scenes.

I don't think it was on the video, but any news on the DVD order? I think the R2 DVDs were in proper chronological order. If we get the same, then we'll be able to see how well Wendee does early.

[Mirrinus]

If it means anything, the reviewers saw it in anachronological order. One of them was complaining about the order being confusing. They also commented a lot on the dubbing job. It's not conclusive, but this combined with the results of the asosbrigade poll makes me at least a little bit hopeful that it'll be anachronological.

[Asrialys]

I'm sure, as anime fans like us, that they are familiar with fansubs. But whatever. We'll have to wait and see.

[Mirrinus]

My take is, if the American release is going to be in chronological order, then there really was no point to those reviewers complaining about the anachronological order to the series, as that would be a non-issue to American viewers.

[Vallen Chaos Valiant]

My take is, if the American release is going to be in chronological order, then there really was no point to those reviewers complaining about the anachronological order to the series, as that would be a non-issue to American viewers.

Then again... I wonder if some of the reviewers watched the dub given to them, watched the DVDs given by the Japanese copyright owners, or watched the fansubs?

Because if they are really as hardcore as they claim, at least some of them would have seen the original fansub versions first, and quite possibly based their comments on those. (This assumes they aren't so hardcore that they are all fluent in Japanese, of course.)

Oh, just forget I asked...:heh:

[Conan-san]

I just have a feeling that "Jhony and his magical powers" will end up becoming a running gag with this lot.

[quigonkenny]

My opinion (for what it's worth) from what little was seen of the dub:

Shamisen: 7/10 - Quite Good. In the original Japanese, with Kenichi Ogata (Genma Saotome, Myouga) they went with a deep voice you wouldn't expect to see from a cat, and it definitely worked. In English, they do the same with Michael McConnohie (Samurai Champloo's Manzou "The Saw," Big O's Schwartzwald) to similar effect. They used a bit of an accent (there's a definite northeastern hint to it), but it worked well. I find it humorous that Yuki spoke two words in the entire preview, yet Shamisen got to speak nearly his entire dialogue.

Haruhi: 6/10 - Good, but inconclusive. It's not Hirano Aya, and doesn't sound all that similar. Wendee Lee's Haruhi sounds more mischievous, but that is likely more the choice of lines we got than anything. As mercurial as Haruhi's mood is, we just didn't get enough to get a solid picture. Beyond a stock "I'm Haruhi Suzumiya!" both her other lines were from the first Computer Club incident. On the translation side, there was a noticeable change to her one line from right before the "sekuhara," but it was well within the spirit of the original line (going by the A.F.K. translation), and not at all out of character, not to mention hella funny, so I'll let it slide. I'm willing to bet they're going to catch heat for every line that doesn't come word-for-word off of Baka-Tsuki or a fansub, though.

Tsuruya-san 0/10 - Hideous. Competely missing from the preview. Unforgivable.

Yuki -/- - Incomplete. She had one line. Two words. "Yuki Nagato." Unfortunately, that's a bad choice, as it's a name that definitely flows much better in the original Japanese order, and thus came off as more robotic than it should have been.

Kyon 9/10 - Very good. Again, just like Haruhi, there wasn't much to go on, but unlike Haruhi, nearly every one of Kyon's lines drips with either frustration, sarcasm, or both. Since we didn't hear him say "I think pony tails are hot," we got both sarcasm and frustration, so it's pretty easy to determine that Crispin Freeman will be able to pull it off. His read of the days of the week (from the first episode, describing Haruhi's hair) was especially priceless.

Itsuki 6/10 - Good, but inconclusive. The only lines we got from him were from Episode 00, so I couldn't tell anything beyond the fact that Jonny Yong Bosch does a good "bad acting" voice, but in their defense, any informative line from Itsuki would be either 5 minutes long, spoiler-filled, or both. We'll have to wait until episode 4 to get a good idea on him, but like Haruhi, it looks good.

Mikuru 10/10 - Perfect. Pretty much all the lines she spoke were from her dialogue in Episode 00, but unlike Itsuki, she's nearly exactly the same the rest of the series, and what we heard was spot on. It didn't hurt that those lines were nearly identical in English, but Ms. Sheh was definitely channelling Yuko Gotou. Her "Mikuru Beeeeam!" was great enough, but her multiple consecutive Mikuru Beams (from the end of Episode 00) were so perfectly pitiful they had me rolling on the floor in glee. Pure unadulterated WIN.

Overall score 7.5/10 - Quite good, but inconclusive, as expected from about 45 seconds (if that) of dialogue. The lack of Yuki lines doesn't surprise me (much the same with Itsuki, but for different reasons), but no Tsuruya-san frankly scares me. Don't they know it's all about the smoked cheese?

[dkellis]

I suspect that they watched the fansubs, or the official English script follows the fansubs (whether because it really is the best translation or not). There's a mention of the "Supersize me!" scene.

There's an odd bit somewhere in there, during a rapid-fire barrage of clips, where a scene from the movie (with Koizumi just standing there) is shown, but instead of being 4:3 with black bars on the side, it's 16:9 and all stretched out. Every other scene from the movie is at 4:3, and that mistake was particularly jarring. I'm not sure if more such slip-ups were present.

The "viewer review" which panned MoHS (the one who hated it) felt very familiar, as though I had seen it before. I think it's the "mediocrity" line, since it's a relatively memorable word. I think I've seen it posted on various messageboards before, a while back, mostly as a link to something else and a call to "burn the infidel" or some such nonsense. Either it's one guy posting the same thing everywhere (unlikely), or people saw the original, and liked the turn of phrase enough to use it themselves.

Overall, I'm impressed with what I've seen of Kyon's dub, didn't even realize it was a dub for Mikuru's scenes, and a bit iffy on Koizumi's and Haruhi's dub. Mostly it was just the reviewers talking over each other in an incoherent babble, which I suppose adds to authenticity, but isn't that informative.

[AcroDave]

Agree 100% with the comments so far. I was prepared to accept some wide lee-way on Haruhi's voice, as long as she got the 'spirit' of Haruhi right. But I'm just not feeling it. She's channeling too much Faye Valentine. IE: Too much street-wise cockiness and not enough head-strong brattiness. A for effort though. I'll definitely be picking up the box set, regardless.

Also, word to the anime.tv guys: please PLEASE stop trying to be hip and edgy. It is painful to watch. The MTV-style multiple hand-held cameras, music-video-style opening, and ‘crazy’ attitude are just annoying. What this show needs is just a couple fat anime nerds, sitting behind a desk full of gundam figures, talking about anime (think screensavers, or better yet, DL.TV (http://www.dl.tv)).

[FatPianoBoy]

Agree 100% with the comments so far. I was prepared to accept some wide lee-way on Haruhi's voice, as long as she got the 'spirit' of Haruhi right. But I'm just not feeling it. She's channeling too much Faye Valentine. IE: Too much street-wise iness and not enough head-strong brattiness. A for effort though. I'll definitely be picking up the box set, regardless.

Also, word to the anime.tv guys: please PLEASE stop trying to be hip and edgy. It is painful to watch. The MTV-style multiple hand-held cameras, music-video-style opening, and ‘crazy’ attitude are just annoying. What this show needs is just a couple fat anime nerds, sitting behind a desk full of gundam figures, talking about anime (think screensavers).

Heh, show up late enough to the party and everyone will have already covered all the points you were going to make :p

I also agree 100% with everything that's been said about the dub, especially about Mikuru's voice. I was thinking: "Wait, aren't they showing clips from the dub? :eyebrow:" ... ":twitch: Ooooh! :D"
And especially that last part about the AnimeTV show. Stop trying to be cool. Anime fans aren't cool, and we're cool with that. The thing that most disturbed me was when they listed their top five anime, which consisted of Haruhi, Evangelion, and other brilliant classics, only to stuff Bleach into the number one spot :uhoh:

[Mirrinus]

Except Haruhi wasn't on their top 5 list, I thought. Wasn't it mostly Miyazaki films? Meh, I think it's unfair to judge films on the same standard as TV anime...

Bleach is one of the better shonen series, IMHO, but there's no way I'd rate it that high. Then again, I didn't care at all for Evangeleon (blame Shinji for that).

[FatPianoBoy]

Except Haruhi wasn't on their top 5 list, I thought. Wasn't it mostly Miyazaki films? Meh, I think it's unfair to judge films on the same standard as TV anime...

Bleach is one of the better shonen series, IMHO, but there's no way I'd rate it that high. Then again, I didn't care at all for Evangeleon (blame Shinji for that).

You know what, you're right; Eva and Bleach were the only two items that I count as anime (Miyazaki himself doesn't like his work being labeled that). Dunno why I thought they listed Haruhi :heh:

[Asrialys]

I N V A S I O N I N V A S I O N I N V A S I O N I N V A S I O N I N V A S I O N I N V A S I O N I N V A S I O N I N V A S I O N
ANONYMOUS> It occurs in 1000 days, be ready
It's on the top right. What could possibly occur in 1000 days that's Haruhi related? Hm...

[quigonkenny]

It's on the top right. What could possibly occur in 1000 days that's Haruhi related? Hm...
Dunno. Anybody got anything planned for November 12, 2009 that we ought to know about?

[GyroidFanatic]

Take off a 0 and try it again.

[quigonkenny]

Take off a 0 and try it again.

If that's the case, they're still off by a day or two. 100 Days before May 29 would be Feb 18.

[Asrialys]

Well, still pretty close. Post in advance. Maybe they don't have work tomorrow?

[FatPianoBoy]

Maybe it's the release date for the first DVD?

[quigonkenny]

Maybe it's the release date for the first DVD?
It's "111 days" now. They're counting down in binary (darn humanoid interfaces). That would make it next Saturday (111bin=7dec).

Could be the next video.

And the release date for the first DVD is May 29.

[GyroidFanatic]

Actually it's New York Comic Con, which is where Bandai's presenting something Haruhi-related

[Pakxenon]

I hated nearly everything in that span of 18 minutes. The hip-style introduction and cameras, the unpredictable varying volumes of gibberish, the freaking mispronunciation of Japanese terms and names, the top 5, the review section, that 19-year old girl (GIRLS WATCH KANON???????????? WOOOOOOOWW. And it's Kawasumi Mai and "cannon" Kanon, holy crap.), oh pretty much everything.

I can't believe I forced myself to sit through that crap. ANIME FANS ARE NOT HIP/COOL/ETC. dammit.

On the dubs: not bad. Haruhi could be better, because it's not sticking to me and Aya Hirano is still stuck in my head. Shamisan had a disturbingly low voice.

[Asrialys]

ANIME FANS ARE NOT HIP/COOL/ETC. dammit.
If they weren't then anime conventions would be so incredibly dull and somehow depressing. If they want to be optimistic and excited, then good for them. We don't need boring people.

[CrowKenobi]

We don't need boring people.No matter how painful it is to watch them, right? ;) :twitch:

:cool:

[FatPianoBoy]

If they weren't then anime conventions would be so incredibly dull and somehow depressing. If they want to be optimistic and excited, then good for them. We don't need boring people.

I think he meant c.1996 MTV "hip and cool," not in the sense of "down-to-earth, fun, and just generally pleasant to be be around." ;)

[Mirrinus]

And it's Kawasumi Mai and "cannon" Kanon, holy crap

Uh . . . I had always thought that the "ka" sound in Japanese was closer to what that girl said than the first syllable of the word "cannon". Also, do you make this much of a fuss when people say "Haruhi Suzumiya" instead of "Suzumiya Haruhi"?

[Sailor Enlil]

Gotta admit I got a kick out of Shamisen's english voice (as in I was rolling over laughing as I was somewhat reminded of Bluto from the Popeye series). The way it's "laid over" a cute creature such as a cat outdid the voicing of the familiar/ermine Albert Chamomile in the english dub of Negima.

[arcticphoenix16]

The english dub is pretty good for anyone who hasn't seen the original. Those who have, like us, will be secretly kicking bandai for their inability to find an English-equivalent of Aya Hirano. Lee is pretty good at voice acting, but her voice is just so different from Aya's and it'll take a really long time to get use to that.

ps Shamisen's voice is AWESOME

[quigonkenny]

The english dub is pretty good for anyone who hasn't seen the original. Those who have, like us, will be secretly kicking bandai for their inability to find an English-equivalent of Aya Hirano. Lee is pretty good at voice acting, but her voice is just so different from Aya's and it'll take a really long time to get use to that.

ps Shamisen's voice is AWESOME
That's a great post. I think more people need to realize that there really isn't an English VA equivalent to Aya Hirano as Haruhi. How often do you hear someone on a forum somewhere talking about how they didn't realize Aya Hirano was so-and-so in such-and-such anime that came out before Haruhi came along? She's been around for a while, but in a way, that role retroactively made her career. Even if someone were to give a Haruhi performance that was technically more proficient, in whatever language, no one will be able to match Aya-chan's performance, because in many ways, she is Suzumiya Haruhi.

To put some perspective on my point, I saw Cowboy Bebop in English before I ever saw it in Japanese. In fact, Bebop was the first anime I ever bought DVDs for (yes, I haven't been at this as long as a lot of you). Because of that, I have a great love for the English dub of Bebop. Not only is it widely recognized as one of the best English dubs ever, but it's also my personal favorite, and was in many ways my doorway back into anime after I "grew out of it" a larger number of years ago than I wish to admit. As a result, to this day, when I think of Spike Spiegel and Faye Valentine, I hear Steven Blum and Wendee Lee. A lot of people may not think too much about that regarding Spike (Kouichi Yamadera, who voiced him in Japanese, is a talented seiyuu, but on this side of the Pacific, there are few VAs as big as Steven Blum); but in Japanese, Faye was voiced by Megumi Hayashibara, unquestionably a legend among seiyuu, and one I already had a great amount of respect for, even at that point in my anime-watching career. Still, to me, Faye Valentine is Wendee Lee, and considering she's easily Wendee Lee's most recognized role (even though Ms Lee is recognized as probably the most prolific English VA alive), I doubt I'm alone.

Even saying all that, Wendee Lee is still Wendee Lee. Like most, I imagine, I won't be able to watch the Haruhi dub without hearing Faye Valentine on some level, even though she is using quite a different voice (just like I can't watch Sanae-san on Sumomomo Momomo or Misa Misa on DEATH NOTE without hearing Haruhi). Not hearing Aya Hirano is going to take some getting used to.

And yes, Shamisen's English voice does own.

[dkellis]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtGYqqTcKn0

Seems like someone clipped out the dub portions of the AnimeTV show and put them together.

[FatPianoBoy]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtGYqqTcKn0

Seems like someone clipped out the dub portions of the AnimeTV show and put them together.

I've been waiting for someone to do that. Now we don't have to brave those kindergartners who don't understand the concept of speaking in turns just to hear the dub work :D

[Sailor Enlil]

What do you think the fan reaction would be if they dubbed God Knows?.

Perhaps if everyone checked this out we might get an idea (note: FANDUB!):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6mqEbfCzEQ

N6mqEbfCzEQ

Personally I think the one who performed this (someone named Cristina Vee according to the Youtube link) did a good job.

[Ascaloth]

That actually sounds so close to the original, it's scary..... :heh:

[Skane]

Maybe American anime-companies could consider the idea of auditioning anime-dubbing via the internet, instead of relying on a set stable. :p

"Send in your auditions now! Best one gets the paycheck!"

Narf.

[[ ]]

Best. Idea. Ever. If they're allready having fans participate in the voting for VA's why not hear their contributions as well. More diversity in dubbed voices would be generally appreaciatable and generally I think there's lots of fans out there that will nail the characters so much better than a professional VA(at least the type of Va's currently used) because they allready KNOW and FEEL the character having seen the entire series.. not just a small bit of script and a quick intro.

Who knows but I feel a more open VA pool including fans as candidates may just up the entire VA scale of quality over here by quite a bit. I do like the voice in the fandubbed song.. very well done. Not quite sure how much I liked the normal VA part later but it seemed as though with a few more recording sessions focusing on just that part she'd do a great job.

What have the localization teams to loose anyways trying out a few new people and involving the people who buy the stuff in the end more anyways? Hell i bet some fans would even settle for lower wages AND do a better job =P

[FatPianoBoy]

I think that, before that suggestion is implemented, the industry should first embrace the recording sessions the industry uses in Japan: getting everyone in the same room and having them act out the scene together.

[darkchibi07]

I think that, before that suggestion is implemented, the industry should first embrace the recording sessions the industry uses in Japan: getting everyone in the same room and having them act out the scene together.

That's going to be an audio engineer's nightmare and not to mention the rest of the voice actors. Do realize by doing that there will be NO ambient or background noise from anything and anyone since it will get picked up by the mics. And also the audio engineer has to edit and splice a lot of audio tracks in order to get a proper sync.

And finally, to pull off getting everyone into the same booth, everyone's schedules has to match up which is RARELY possible since VAs has other obligations to tend to.

[LumpOfCole]

"Haruhi" on asosbrigade.com is hinting toward a change of the cat's voice :( :frustrated: I love the English voice!

[Noppapana]

"Haruhi" on asosbrigade.com is hinting toward a change of the cat's voice :( :frustrated: I love the English voice!

naah its good that they are going to change the cats voice
btw its just got one phrase

[quigonkenny]

"Haruhi" on asosbrigade.com is hinting toward a change of the cat's voice :( :frustrated: I love the English voice!
I wouldn't worry too much about it. From the rest of "Haruhi's" post, it just looks like it's a setup for Episode 006, "Haruhi Makes Her Directorial Debut" (or something like that) as noted at the end of 005.

Of course if they do change the voice, I nominate Richard Epcar (Daisuke Jigen, Batou, Zangetsu).

[FatPianoBoy]

That's going to be an audio engineer's nightmare and not to mention the rest of the voice actors. Do realize by doing that there will be NO ambient or background noise from anything and anyone since it will get picked up by the mics. And also the audio engineer has to edit and splice a lot of audio tracks in order to get a proper sync.

And finally, to pull off getting everyone into the same booth, everyone's schedules has to match up which is RARELY possible since VAs has other obligations to tend to.

... Japan doesn't seem to have much of a problem with any of this. Neither does The Simpsons, which is one of the few (only?) American animations to use this technique.

[quigonkenny]

... Japan doesn't seem to have much of a problem with any of this. Neither does The Simpsons, which is one of the few (only?) American animations to use this technique.
True, but in both those situations, the studios have been set up for that. The way English dubbing is usually set up is for the VAs to come in one at a time and be dubbed separately, and for that to be changed would be a huge logistical ordeal for the studio.

That's not even taking into account the fact that due to the smaller talent pool in the US, VAs have to work on a number of jobs at once to meet the demand, and that would screw up the schedules of other jobs they have. In the case of The Simpsons, those VAs are paid well enough that they don't need to do additional work (not true with the vast majority of English VA jobs), and thus most of them don't. Then they get around many of the remaining scheduling issues involved in pulling an ensemble dub by having most of the VAs pulling double and triple duty.

[Kaioshin Sama]

Wow the English cast is actually better. They nailed pretty much everything. I don't care how much everybody says Aya Hirano is perfect and beyond compare, but even Wendee Lee's job was spot on if you consider she's an english speaker and this is in english. The only one I didn't like is Yuki's voice, but that's because I never liked her voice to begin with when it was Minori Chihara. There just keeping things accurate.

[FatPianoBoy]

I thought Wendee Lee's delivery was a little sterile, actually. Haruhi's supposed to be an incorrigibly motivated loose canon, and I just wasn't getting that. And no, I'm not comparing her to Hirano, since that's not really fair nor applicable.
I'm not sure how you could make a call on Yuki's voice after just hearing her say her name, though :eyebrow:

[Kaioshin Sama]

I thought Wendee Lee's delivery was a little sterile, actually. Haruhi's supposed to be an incorrigibly motivated loose canon, and I just wasn't getting that. And no, I'm not comparing her to Hirano, since that's not really fair nor applicable.
I'm not sure how you could make a call on Yuki's voice after just hearing her say her name, though :eyebrow:

I don't know that's kind of what I got exactly is the stubborn arrogance and the idea that she needs to be in charge of the situation. That kind of got old on me fast though, which is why I wish they showed a bit more of the everyday Haruhi instead of the scenes where she's bossing people around. Ultimately, in the long run that personality trait doesn't even last very long to the degree it exists in the anime if you read the novels. After the defining event at the end of series you read the novel and she settles down substantially and they all chill out doing everyday stuff and getting serious character development with only a few strange things happening every now and then. (The malice in her character is diminished substantially as well) The series honestly picked like the worst time to end unless you are watching chronologically. (That's when the character development really kicks off).

Anyway, maybe they might want to release some clips with a bit more than soundbites (Actually they were more like Sound nibblets). Man I swear trailers kind of suck no matter what the subject is though. They never tell you anything valuable. Admittedly this one is far and away better than your average ADV Trailer (Play music from the show with random scenes from the anime). Now we get random scenes with people talking from the anime:

Haruhi: "Hey I'm Haruhi Suzumiya"
Yuki: "Y...U....K...I...Na.................Ga.......To"
Audience: "Hey what do you do"
Haruhi: "Huh!"
Audience: "You know whats your show about"
Haruhi: "Uhhhh. I'm Haruhi Suzumiya?!"
Audience: ARRRRRRRRRRRRRGH!

Unless they are deliberately trying to hide something though, I think the voices are just as good as the originals in the context of the English language. I'm sure a lot of people will disagree with me though, as Aya Hirano and Sugita Tomokazu are so damn popular that a lot of people think they are incomparable gods of voice acting. I kind of feel sorry for Wendee Lee and Crispin Freeman as a lot of people aren't likely to give them a fair chance even though they sound as close to a proper fit for the characters as anyone could possibly be without actually being the original voice actors. (Plus they have almost incomparable experience compared to Aya Hirano who has much room to improve. Not so much Sugita though as he has a fair number of series under his belt). Like a lot of people say, its getting used to it that will be the hardest.

[FatPianoBoy]

I don't know that's kind of what I got exactly is the stubborn arrogance and the idea that she needs to be in charge of the situation. That kind of got old on me fast though, which is why I wish they showed a bit more of the everyday Haruhi instead of the scenes where she's bossing people around. Ultimately, in the long run that personality trait doesn't even last very long to the degree it exists in the anime if you read the novels. After the defining event at the end of series you read the novel and she settles down substantially and they all chill out doing everyday stuff and getting serious character development with only a few strange things happening every now and then. (The malice in her character is diminished substantially as well) The series honestly picked like the worst time to end unless you are watching chronologically. (That's when the character development really kicks off).

Well, they only covered the first volume with a few snippets from other novels, and she was like that for the entirety of the first novel, so it's kind of unavoidable that she'd seem that way. We get a lot of her more subdued demeanor in Live A Live and Someday in the Rain, and character development in these episodes is quite progressive, but most of the chapters from other novels they used are the ones when that trait resurfaces (Lone Island Syndrome, Day of Sagittarius, Boredom).


Anyway, maybe they might want to release some clips with a bit more than soundbites (Actually they were more like Sound nibblets).

I think they plan on releasing a bit more of the dub on May 29th :p

[Kaioshin Sama]

That's a great post. I think more people need to realize that there really isn't an English VA equivalent to Aya Hirano as Haruhi. How often do you hear someone on a forum somewhere talking about how they didn't realize Aya Hirano was so-and-so in such-and-such anime that came out before Haruhi came along? She's been around for a while, but in a way, that role retroactively made her career.

I just noticed this post. I'd go so far as to say it both retroactively and proactively made her career as well. At this point in time she could put on the worst performance of her life and it would still be hailed as a hallmark of voice acting worthy of legend. That's the main reason I have this strange feeling that Wendee Lee is going to be getting some tough and unfair questions when the Haruhi panel makes does its next convention.

[Cloud05]

I wouldn't worry too much about it. From the rest of "Haruhi's" post, it just looks like it's a setup for Episode 006, "Haruhi Makes Her Directorial Debut" (or something like that) as noted at the end of 005.

Of course if they do change the voice, I nominate Richard Epcar (Daisuke Jigen, Batou, Zangetsu).

I thought the cats voice was great, I busted up when he started talking. :heh:

[rem]

Wow the English cast is actually better. They nailed pretty much everything. I don't care how much everybody says Aya Hirano is perfect and beyond compare, but even Wendee Lee's job was spot on if you consider she's an english speaker and this is in english. The only one I didn't like is Yuki's voice, but that's because I never liked her voice to begin with when it was Minori Chihara. There just keeping things accurate.

I agree with you-- I can actually listen to Wendee Lee and not cringe :heh: Not to say that Aya Hirano didn't do a good job with the character, but her voice had an edge to it that really annoyed me. The rest of the American cast sounded quite good, and worthy successors to the Japanese cast. I'm wondering, though, at the choice of the translators/writers for the series-- the line of Haruhi's, "Listen up, boys! Here's what's going down!" is horrid! No one speaks like that, highschoolers or faux-cool adults :frustrated: I wish they would get in some competent writers who could make Haruhi and the others speak in a more realistic fashion!

[quigonkenny]

I agree with you-- I can actually listen to Wendee Lee and not cringe :heh: Not to say that Aya Hirano didn't do a good job with the character, but her voice had an edge to it that really annoyed me. The rest of the American cast sounded quite good, and worthy successors to the Japanese cast. I'm wondering, though, at the choice of the translators/writers for the series-- the line of Haruhi's, "Listen up, boys! Here's what's going down!" is horrid! No one speaks like that, highschoolers or faux-cool adults :frustrated: I wish they would get in some competent writers who could make Haruhi and the others speak in a more realistic fashion!

Bang-Zoom dub translation: "Listen up, boys. Here's what's going down..."
Baka-Tsuki novel translation: "Since you've said that, we have our ways."
a.f.k. fansub translation: "I see. Well, I have my own ideas about that."

The dub translation is obviously different, not even taking into account that the Baka-Tsuki translation may not even be of the same words (although a.f.k.'s Strato translated the line almost exactly the same as in the fansub in his novel translation), but the spirit of the line is certainly there. Who says "We have our ways," anyway, outside of Bond villains and Toht from Raiders of the Lost Ark? Having Haruhi "speak in a more realistic fashion" would be a failure, because Haruhi doesn't speak in a realistic fashion.

[QBnoYouko]

As long as the dub cast does a good job portraying their characters I'll be satisfied. So far, I think most of the actors and actresses voices will fit, especially Stephanie Sheh's.

Of course, I'm waaay more interested in the Special Edition DVDs with all the special goodies. :)

[Yazakura]

XP

Haruhi sounds like a donkey in the dub. XD XD XD

Seriously, I saw this interveiw for the Haruhi dubbed series done by anime fans in California, they showed the dubbed version of Haruhi and I went something like this... :twitch:

[Animexcel]

I think Wendee Lee's voice sounds like Aya Hirano's singing voice as to her talking voice.

[darkchibi07]

English trailer is out!

http://asosbrigade.com/

The trailer will give more chances to experience more of Wendee Lee's rendition of Haruhi.

[FatPianoBoy]

In my completely objective opinion (meaning that the fact that it's Haruhi has not been considered), that may be one of the best trailers I've ever seen. It not only makes you wonder "WTF is this?", it makes you want to find out.

The jury is still out on Ms. Lee's rendition. I must say that I'm still not very hopeful.

[Dagger]

I'm not a huge Wendee Lee fan, so I guess I'm biased, but I think although she's got the right enthusiasm, it's just too obvious that it's acting.

And hey... is that footage from the full ED dance?

[FatPianoBoy]

I'm not a huge Wendee Lee fan, so I guess I'm biased, but I think although she's got the right enthusiasm, it's just too obvious that it's acting.

And hey... is that footage from the full ED dance?

You hit the nail on the head right there.

And yes, that is footage from the full dance sequence. There's also some extra footage from the DVD release in there, too.

[cmage]

There's also some extra footage from the DVD release in there, too.

Would that be why some of the parts are unfamiliar to me? :confused:

I've been listening to it, and I think I can live with Wendee Lee's voice. It doesn't immediately cry 'Haruhi' to me, but I think it'll grow on me as I watch the dub. I think this is one dub I'll definitely be watching, just so I can get twice the Haruhi out of the DVDs. :heh:

[2H-Dragon]

While the dub overall is bad. I know a lot of people tend to bash dubs I do to, but on the overall dub scale this does score below average. It's the kinda dubbing you expect hentai to get. I think I really did hear em in some random hentai. O_o Not that I really care. If I can get the Japanese voices and English subs on the DVD I ain't complaining.

[FatPianoBoy]

The subber's l33tness got old about a year ago for me, guys.
The only voice I'm truly concerned about is Wendee Lee's. Everyone seems to be doing a bang-up job presenting their characters and their personalities (especially Mikuru and Kyon), so I really don't see what the problem is.

[Asrialys]

How can anyone judge the dub so early? We've only heard Haruhi's eccentric side on the current trailer and the other voices from the amateur video in episode 00...?

[Mirrinus]

You know, for Haruhi's introduction scene, that "exuberant enthusiasm" just doesn't seem to fit...wasn't she more along the lines of "bored, disillusioned, and upset" in the original, and only changed after she speaks with Kyon?

[Asrialys]

You know, for Haruhi's introduction scene, that "exuberant enthusiasm" just doesn't seem to fit...wasn't she more along the lines of "bored, disillusioned, and upset" in the original, and only changed after she speaks with Kyon?
I got no enthusiasm from that. More like an announcement...Maybe you're thinking of a different scene? I can remember one where she sounded "bored, disillusioned, and upset" but I do not remember what episode or when it happened. It was the sound clip they used for voting for Haruhi's English voice.

[dkellis]

English trailer is out!

http://asosbrigade.com/

That has to be one of the most spoilery trailers I've ever seen.

I mean, even considering the time-jumping of the aired order, this trailer just tosses out several major spoilers from the series, the most notable of which is Ryouko's true identity. Even if it's episode four in chronological order, it's still a major plot revelation.

I can only imagine that they're not expecting anyone who hasn't seen the series to jump on the little details and remember them by the time the DVD comes out.

As for the dub, there's really only Haruhi's lines to judge from, and it's what I consider to be typical dub. Which isn't really that good.

EDIT: To clarify, what I've noticed in a lot of dubs is for the VAs to enunciate every word clearly and distinctly, and it ends up feeling like they're reading off a script which they've rehearsed in isolation, but not in context. And nothing kills a dub as thoroughly, whether English or original Japanese, than the VAs sounding like they're acting in a studio, rather than invisibly blending in with the characters.

[Danny_river]

And yet another great seires has been pretty much ruined by horrible dubbing.

[cmage]

And yet another great seires has been pretty much ruined by horrible dubbing.

If you don't like dubs, don't watch them, and don't go in threads for discussion of them just to bash them. You haven't even seen enough to form much of an opinion.

[Danny_river]

sorry. I didn't mean it to come out that way.

There are plenty of good dubbes out there. Figure 17, Stelliva, and Chobits to name a few. And when they are good i love to watch them!

But there have been many great series that have been horriblely dubbed. That is a fact. Love Hina, Gundam Seed, Stratoz 4, and now Haruhi.

Im just stating a fact. This isn't my opinion entorely.

[Dagger]

I actually don't think that the trailer is overly spoilery. All it really reveals to someone who knows nothing of the show is that some weird shit is going down, which is a necessary hook for people who are going to be dropping money on this, instead of just trying it out without any committment. A person who knows nothing about the story is not going to notice & remember Ryoko from a couple of split second scenes. It's one of those ironic spoilers that first time viewers won't be inclined to notice unless they're warned about it.

ETA: Danny_river, what's a good dub and what's a bad dub cannot be distilled to "fact." I didn't like any of the dubs you named as "good," for one thing. Keep in mind that your opinion is only one among many.

[Kensuke]

I actually don't think that the trailer is overly spoilery. All it really reveals to someone who knows nothing of the show is that some weird shit is going down, which is a necessary hook for people who are going to be dropping money on this, instead of just trying it out without any committment.
I have to agree with that, they had to show some scenes that show that this series is not about just school life/comedy. And it didn't reveal anything about the characters true identities. I guess a person who hasn't seen this series is quite confused (what-the-heck-is-going-on factor), and even more after first episode (broadcast order).

[Twisted Reality]

I watched the trailer, and I find it hard to like the dubbing. I dunno if it's because the English actors will have their performance sabotaged by my constant comparison with the Japanese ones or if it's simply horrid.

Anyway, my definition of an ideal English dub would be something like Cowboy Bebop, where I actually vastly preferred the English to the Japanese. I figure it's partially because most of the archetypes just sells better with English voice actors, being that Cowboy Bebop has a rather broadly...ethnic...cast. Perhaps the cast wast just well-picked.

Somehow, Haruhi didn't sound appropriately manic and hyperactive. It also seems to be missing that sort of...I don't know...snottiness? She also seems to have an edge to her voice that just seems a bit mature for Haruhi.

Kyon doesn't really sound like a deadpan snarker (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/DeadpanSnarker). I remember that line he gives in the stairwell in Japanese and he just bleeds supreme irritation, as if he doesn't want to be bothered with her antics. The English actor is just..."What do you need help with?"...more curious than annoyed.

Mikuru sounds okay, but it's hard to say much else about her English counterpart.

[quigonkenny]

I watched the trailer, and I find it hard to like the dubbing. I dunno if it's because the English actors will have their performance sabotaged by my constant comparison with the Japanese ones or if it's simply horrid.

Anyway, my definition of an ideal English dub would be something like Cowboy Bebop, where I actually vastly preferred the English to the Japanese. I figure it's partially because most of the archetypes just sells better with English voice actors, being that Cowboy Bebop has a rather broadly...ethnic...cast. Perhaps the cast wast just well-picked.

Somehow, Haruhi didn't sound appropriately manic and hyperactive. It also seems to be missing that sort of...I don't know...snottiness? She also seems to have an edge to her voice that just seems a bit mature for Haruhi.

Kyon doesn't really sound like a deadpan snarker (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/DeadpanSnarker). I remember that line he gives in the stairwell in Japanese and he just bleeds supreme irritation, as if he doesn't want to be bothered with her antics. The English actor is just..."What do you need help with?"...more curious than annoyed.

Mikuru sounds okay, but it's hard to say much else about her English counterpart.
I think that the shows that have a distinctly American or British feel (like Cowboy Bebop, Hellsing) tend to have better dubs overall, I guess because it's easier to relate the voices to the actions on screen. Shows that have a definite Japanese feel to them (especially high school and junior high shows) tend to work best in the original Japanese, as the English voices (epsecially in the display of emotion) tend to be a bit jarring in certain settings. Haruhi, while set in a Japanese high school, may fare a bit better, though, as there is a definite "snarky British humour" feel to the whole thing (moreso in the books, but in the series also) that wouldn't feel out of place in a Douglas Adams or Harry Potter adaptation.

It's still too early to tell until we have at least an entire episode to look at, to get an adequate amount of context.

[darkchibi07]

Is anyone going to Sakura-con today?

April 5, 2007 0200 PDT
We are travelling to Sakuracon in Seattle, Washington this weekend! First up is the world premiere of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya episode 00 and episode 1 english dub at the Haruhi panel on Friday, April 6, 2007 at 2pm. Ken Iyadomi, CEO and President, as well as Robert Napton, Director of Sales/Marketing, both of Bandai Entertainment will be attending. On Saturday at 4pm a Bandai Entertainment panel has been scheduled. See you in Seattle!

[cmage]

I'm rather hoping for a badly-recorded version to show up on YouTube or something. ...Not that it's likely. :uhoh:

[Kai1]

I guess it is close to impossible to find an english cast that's able to deliver the real feeling of the original characters/cast. They at least gave it a good effort. But somehow the tsundere part of haruhi's voice is lacking?
Speaking of which: are there any good english tsundere voice-dubs?

Admittedly, I'm also a subs-fan and generally am not into dubs. But dubs are for a different target audience and fanbase. They will appreciate it.

[cmage]

I guess it is close to impossible to find an english cast that's able to deliver the real feeling of the original characters/cast. They at least gave it a good effort. But somehow the tsundere part of haruhi's voice is lacking?
Speaking of which: are there any good english tsundere voice-dubs?

Admittedly, I'm also a subs-fan and generally am not into dubs. But dubs are for a different target audience and fanbase. They will appreciate it.

It's a little unreasonable to expect the English VAs to get across the exact same emotions, mannerisms, etc. as the Japanese ones. They're voicing their own takes on the characters, so of course they'll be at least a little different. I dunno how much we can judge the dub until we can see the full episodes, though. :rolleyes:

[Asrialys]

Speaking of which: are there any good english tsundere voice-dubs?
Shakugan no Shana has a pretty good dub. But since you're not really into dubs, you may think otherwise...

[Vexx]

I guess it is close to impossible to find an english cast that's able to deliver the real feeling of the original characters/cast. They at least gave it a good effort. But somehow the tsundere part of haruhi's voice is lacking?
Speaking of which: are there any good english tsundere voice-dubs?

Admittedly, I'm also a subs-fan and generally am not into dubs. But dubs are for a different target audience and fanbase. They will appreciate it.

If you keep going back to the same well and it wasn't very wet to begin with... well. There are amazingly good radio actors and voice actors out there. They just aren't in the pools that US distribution companies keep returning to. In some defense.... I sometimes wonder if the problem doesn't actually reside in the casting executive's brains (lazy, must golf..... ah go with same people I went with before, the audience doesn't really notice anyway).
The comment above about it sounding like someone is just reading a script nails my problem with many productions a bit. I just don't believe them (compare with a typical voice-over work in a Pixar film for example... yes, bigger budget, but a lot of talent doesn't cost huge $$$).

[Tsukuyomi]

I think this dubbing will be great, they really do have an all star team of voice actors --- i have to be honest, it's not often that you hear a good english dub... sometimes, you think, "What the hell did they do?" some of us actually care who the voice actors are! like some of you "guys" into the female voice actors! only to have your imagine destroyed when you find out who the english voice actor for that character is! lol i.e. = Naruto (young girl to old woman) I'm sure that ruined the imagine for some of you people.

Personally I like the line up of voice actors set up for the dubbing! I'm only worried about Koizumi's dubbing.... I didn't really feel the character when Johnny YONG BOSCH played "Kuhn" .hack//GU - because he plays his character more like badasses than pretty boys... and I think Kuhn and Itsuki are supposed to sound like pretty boys... xD I mean when you look at his japanese counter part for the voice actor... and then you look at the english dubber.... which one do you think fits the character? lol

But you know! you've guys seen the video (if not you should) of the dubbing process! Just look at how hard they were working Crispin!.. I think that guy has done many good transitions of japanese to english dubs i.e. Slayer's Zelgadis, Chobit's Hideki, and so on-- of course that's just my opinion... sometimes I think he sounds better than japanese version (but i won't say that for this one, I think Sugita Tomokazu was great) the slice of life part of the anime really settle in with his voice acting... and we'll seen next month when the first dvd comes out!!!!!! :D :D :D

(don't you just hate it when people post long posts you aren't even gonna read? and wonder why they never read yours?)

[Jaden]

SHnY is hard to dub well, the original VAs did such an awesome job with Kyon's humorous narration, Mikuru's moe-voice, and Haruhi's moodswitchery...and what the hell are they gonna do about Live a live?

[Asrialys]

SHnY is hard to dub well, the original VAs did such an awesome job with Kyon's humorous narration, Mikuru's moe-voice, and Haruhi's moodswitchery...and what the hell are they gonna do about Live a live?
It was already decided a while ago that the singing will be in its original Japanese.

[Dynzel]

It was already decided a while ago that the singing will be in its original Japanese.

Seriously? I was worried that they might 'pull a Lacus' (from Gundam SEED--no idea about Destiny). >_>; No offense to those who DO like it... but seriously. Wow. Just wow. :twitch:

[Tsukuyomi]

those are rare occasions, but they can't just replace ENOZ! lol
you can always just switch audio right?

[X207]

i finally bothered to check out asos brigade for the dubbed trailer. the only voice so far there that spund right is mikuru, the rest sound weird

[Potatochobit]

I can't believe they are so close to releasing this. I cant wait.

the limited edition box looks so cool. and it comes with the CD just like I have been anticipating from bandai.

[DumbBrunette]

Hi, all! A newbie here with her humble opinion.

I went to the first volume premiere at Anime Boston, and honestly, I greatly enjoyed the dub. Crispin Freeman is absolutely perfect as Kyon, and everyone else seemed very well chosen. Even Wendee Lee, whom I had originally wanted but began to doubt after the trailer, performed well on the whole. There were a few iffy line readings, and I doubt many can say she is even on par with Hirano, but she's decent at the least.

A couple of things to note: the voice for the cat, as originally shown in the clips on Anime TV, has changed. The current choice is much closer to the original.

Also, there is no mention of sliders, to the point where I wonder if they're trying to avoid issues with the old Fox series of the same name.

[Tokkan]

Also, there is no mention of sliders, to the point where I wonder if they're trying to avoid issues with the old Fox series of the same name.

They do realise that could cause problems if a potential sequel(s) were to mention sliders, right? And having read the novels, I know this WILL cause problems.

[Vallen Chaos Valiant]

Also, there is no mention of sliders, to the point where I wonder if they're trying to avoid issues with the old Fox series of the same name.

I wouldn't think it would be an issue... The Slider TV show is a dead franchise, last I heard it was ran to the ground anyway. Worse comes to worse, they can use dimensional travellers. But still, I doubt it would get that bad.

[FatPianoBoy]

Did that franchise even coin the term 'Sliders' to describe those who engage in dimensional/parallel-world travel?
I remember (vaguely, I was young) when the pilot aired, and I remember that I even guessed what it was about from the title, so I tend to conclude that I'd heard that somewhere else before.

[Vexx]

The concept is much older than the series...... but I've not seen the *term* used prior to the series. However.. its entered the vernacular as a common term (see Wiki) so I doubt there's a real problem outside of lots of people just having no idea what it means anymore.

(pulls his MythAdventure D-hopper and scoots back to the Bazaar)

[Tsukuyomi]

I take back what I said about Itsuki's english dub, after playing a few hours into .hack//gu vol 2... which is to me-a slightly significant difference from his tone in volume 1... i can see that he can totally dub Koizumi, thus I agree that the english dub is made of the best it can get :D maan! only 3 or so weeks away! I'm getting excited!

[Asrialys]

So close! Yet so far away!

One of the voices I can't wait to hear is Bridget Hoffman's portayal of Asakura. From the roles I do remember her playing, she did really well. She has the sweet voice that fits Asakura. Can't think of anyone else who would fit.

[Quajafrie]

The dub was pretty bad. And especially Haruhi's voice was awful.

[darkchibi07]

That doesn't give anything to work with. :rolleyes:

[FatPianoBoy]

That doesn't give anything to work with. :rolleyes:

Exactly. It's a brilliant strategy, really: state an opinion, then omit any explanation, thereby foiling any attempt at refuting your reasoning ;)

[Quajafrie]

If I'm not mistaken, the voices were decided based (mainly) on the voting that took place in the ASOS Brigade site. I'm pretty sure that Haruhi's voice is the one that won the voting there. And it was pretty bad. Generic, crappy, unfitting, unenthusiastic. I remember liking one of the other voices. But the otaku community (or else The Bad Taste Community ©) voted for this one. It's not my problem.

Exactly. It's a brilliant strategy, really: state an opinion, then omit any explanation, thereby foiling any attempt at refuting your reasoning
You should be really proud of yourself, revealing my complex strategy.

I didn't know I had to make a report explaining what I said. Oh, sorry, I forgot that internet is such a serious business.

PS. Let the bad rep come.

[darkchibi07]

If I'm not mistaken, the voices were decided based (mainly) on the voting that took place in the ASOS Brigade site. I'm pretty sure that Haruhi's voice is the one that won the voting there. And it was pretty bad. Generic, crappy, unfitting, unenthusiastic. I remember liking one of the other voices. But the otaku community (or else The Bad Taste Community ©) voted for this one. It's not my problem.




Actually the one that was leading was Kari Wahlgren. Wendee Lee was second.

[Ascaloth]

You should be really proud of yourself, revealing my complex strategy.

I didn't know I had to make a report explaining what I said. Oh, sorry, I forgot that internet is such a serious business.

PS. Let the bad rep come.

Oh, no, you don't HAVE to, you know. Doing that is merely the difference between your being viewed as a serious commentator, or being viewed as an incorrigible troll who thinks with the organ below rather than the organ above. :rolleyes:

[dkellis]

I didn't know I had to make a report explaining what I said. Oh, sorry, I forgot that internet is such a serious business.

If my interpretation of the forum rules are correct, technically you do.

It's under 2.1, I believe. Of course, I could be wrong.

[Twisted Reality]

I've seen maybe a couple of episodes of "Lucky Star."

Wait? What does that have to do with dubbing and SnHY?

Well, one of the characters (blue-haired gamer girl and otaku), made the observation that the radio dramas will be adapted into anime but will have different VA's. She complains that the new voice actors, of course, totally ruin the feel you get from the original radio drama. Of course, being the nerd collector that she is, she has to collect the new interpretation of the same series.

Dunno, I felt this was pretty applicable to Haruhi's dubbing and it's pretty funny in retrospect.

Who knows? Maybe the English cast will find nuances of their own, though I'm still not hoping for much.

[Quajafrie]

It's just that if I made that comment in a real-life conversation, it would sound natural, but in all the pretentiousness that conquers the net. I was commenting on some voices, not expressing my opinion about a "serious and difficult" matter or whatever. And I'm pretty sure that if I said "OMGWTF THE VOICES ROCK" without explaining why I like the dub, nobody would criticize me. And don't tell me that it's different, because it just isn't.

[FatPianoBoy]

I'm pretty sure that if I said "OMGWTF THE VOICES ROCK" without explaining why I like the dub, nobody would criticize me. And don't tell me that it's different, because it just isn't.

Probably not, but you probably wouldn't be taken seriously, either.

[TheWindKnight]

Okay, I know I'm all n00b-ish and stuff, but I personally am DREADING the dub. I've heard Wendee Lee's voice overs as a tsundere, and I'm not pleased with them.

Well, there are moments when she's good. When she's really exasperated, she's believable.

My first impressions of her come from Magic Knight Rayearth, though. There is one quote that she says really well, in my mind that I think is worth mentioning. "There is no way we can get through all these monsters, I mean, Mokona, come on..." she didn't do anger well, she didnt do sadness well. But she pwn'd at exasperation.

Yeah. After seeing Crispin Freeman, I'm not pleased, myself. But that's just becuase I dont think anyone can measure up to the Japanese Kyon.

And i do not like the voice of Shamisen.

That is all.

[Ascaloth]

It's just that if I made that comment in a real-life conversation, it would sound natural, but in all the pretentiousness that conquers the net. I was commenting on some voices, not expressing my opinion about a "serious and difficult" matter or whatever. And I'm pretty sure that if I said "OMGWTF THE VOICES ROCK" without explaining why I like the dub, nobody would criticize me. And don't tell me that it's different, because it just isn't.

Forum =/= RL conversation. On a forum, you have all the time in the world to think through what you're going to say, unlike in a RL conversation where everyone has to come up with something on the fly. Forum netiquette decrees that you make good use of that time.

And nobody would criticize you, true, but everyone would think of you as yet just another fanboy, and ignore you. And that's hardly better, is it? :rolleyes:

[CrowKenobi]

Yeah. After seeing Crispin Freeman, I'm not pleased, myself. But that's just becuase I dont think anyone can measure up to the Japanese Kyon.Chris Patton. :p

Do you think that Crispin Freeman did a good job playing Hideki in Chobits?

[dkellis]

It's just that if I made that comment in a real-life conversation, it would sound natural, but in all the pretentiousness that conquers the net. I was commenting on some voices, not expressing my opinion about a "serious and difficult" matter or whatever. And I'm pretty sure that if I said "OMGWTF THE VOICES ROCK" without explaining why I like the dub, nobody would criticize me. And don't tell me that it's different, because it just isn't.

I don't know about anyone else, but either "the voices suck" or "the voices rock" would prompt me to ask why, whether in real life or on the Internet.

I like opinions to be backed up by some reasoning, even if that reasoning is "personal preference", since I don't think anyone is a mind-reader and knows for sure that it's personal preference instead of something more objective.

This is just a weird quirk of mine, though. I generally get irritated by one-line statements of opinion without any backing, which does mean that I get irritated on the Internet a lot. (It's actually easier to say "why?" in Real Life, taking less than a second, but posting "why?" online generally requires a bit more work and clicking.)

[jaziek]

Chris Patton. :p

Do you think that Crispin Freeman did a good job playing Hideki in Chobits?

its the same person?! i havent researched the dub much, just watched the trailer.. I like haruhi's voice. I think wendee lee is awesome. In chobits i hated Hidekis voice in the dub... Ill stick with the japanese audio i think.. Purely because they cannot get the voices right for Yuki or Mikuru, it just doesnt seem possible.

[zoozoc]

I don't know about anyone else, but either "the voices suck" or "the voices rock" would prompt me to ask why, whether in real life or on the Internet.

I like opinions to be backed up by some reasoning, even if that reasoning is "personal preference", since I don't think anyone is a mind-reader and knows for sure that it's personal preference instead of something more objective.

This is just a weird quirk of mine, though. I generally get irritated by one-line statements of opinion without any backing, which does mean that I get irritated on the Internet a lot. (It's actually easier to say "why?" in Real Life, taking less than a second, but posting "why?" online generally requires a bit more work and clicking.)

you remind me of my english teacher :p , dont worry, thats a good thing. ;)

I definently agree with you though, even if its something as general and vague as "the voices irritated me" is better then "the dub sucked".

[Mirrinus]

Just got the DVD today.

Haruhi's dub voice takes some getting used to. I didn't like how she sounded as introverted Haruhi in Melancholy I, but thought she picked up as crazy Haruhi in Melancholy II and III.

Crispin Freeman as Kyon was quite good, though. I absolutely loved his deadpan "yay" at the end of Melancholy I. My only complaint is that there's almost no distinction between his narrator voice and his dialogue voice, which makes it even more confusing than the Japanese version. Thankfully, Kyon gets more lines than any other character, so it's great that I like his dub VA's job.

Is it just me, or is Mikuru's dub voice even higher than her Japanese voice?

Yuki's performance was my least favorite. She sounded way too robotic in most of her scenes, which is sort of understandable, though, considering the differences between Japanese and English. Japanese is easily divided into syllables, which allows Japanese Yuki to develop a noticable rhythm that's nearly impossible to imitate in English. However, I did like Yuki's dub VA at the beginning of Melancholy III. She seems to sound better when she's speaking faster.

I don't really have much to say about Bosch as Itsuki. He didn't have that many lines, and what he did do didn't seem particularly noteworthy.

I can't wait to see what Melancholy IV will be like with Ryoko Asakura. Her dub sounds so sweet and innocent. Tsuruya's laugh was pretty nice too. But the star of the show was Crispin Freeman's Kyon.

Now to rewatch it all over again in Japanese.

[diopter]

Just watched the dub episodes, here is my thought on the dubbing:

1) Haruhi: I thought the voice was decent. But she came off as emo more than eccentric in episode 1. It did get a little better with eps 2 and 3. So as we get more dialogue of Haruhi in her usual enthusiasm, hopefully it will be rectified.

2) Kyon: Definitely the star of the dub. Crispin Freeman didn't impress me as much in episode 0, but starting episode 1 Crispin shined very brightly. I do agree that he did not vary his narration as much as he should from his regular lines, but that's not my main concern; although Crispin nailed the average frequency (for lack of better term) of what Kyon should sound like, I thought he lacked the tone and "attitude" of Sugita's Kyon. I am mainly talking about the lines where he should use a more sarcastic tone/voice. I think the sarcastic voice of Tomokazu Sugita is what made Kyon so endearing, and certainly why I decided to keep watching the anime after the first episode. But that's just being picky, overall Crispin has done the best job in terms of the dub.

3) Yuki: I feel like Michelle Ruff is trying too hard to be monotone/apathetic, so the end result isn't that great. Yuki only has 1 type of range in terms of voice, so I didn't think Michelle would screw that up. However, she did sound a little bit better as the episodes rolled on, hopefully it's not because I got used to her voice.

4) Itsuki: I hope I'm not the only one who thought Johnny Yong Bosch's voice acting is just way off from the Japanese counterpart. I know he likes to use his BS "I'm a voice actor, not a voice imitator," but bleh, I'm losing coherence in my typing just thinking what a horrible job he did. With Johnny at the helm, I feel like Itsuki will shout out "Bankai!" any second and swing a big sword at Kyon.

5) Mikuru: The #2 best job, after Kyon. I think Stephanie Sheh nailed the high-pitched screams whenever she gets harassed by Haruhi. Although I'm being nitpicky here, I do wish she would have more range in her high-voice (Yuko Goto is amazing to have such variance with her high-pitched voice). But truth be told, I don't think any other female voice actress could do half as good of a job as Stephanie did.

[Asrialys]

Just watched the dub episodes, here is my thought on the dubbing:

1) Haruhi: I thought the voice was decent. But she came off as emo more than eccentric in episode 1. It did get a little better with eps 2 and 3. So as we get more dialogue of Haruhi in her usual enthusiasm, hopefully it will be rectified.
What the heck does emo sound like?

5) Mikuru: The #2 best job, after Kyon. I think Stephanie Sheh nailed the high-pitched screams whenever she gets harassed by Haruhi. Although I'm being nitpicky here, I do wish she would have more range in her high-voice (Yuko Goto is amazing to have such variance with her high-pitched voice). But truth be told, I don't think any other female voice actress could do half as good of a job as Stephanie did.
Haha, yeah, I thought Stephanie did excellent.